


Mess Behind the Decoys

by KarkatVantabulous



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Acquaintances to Friends to Lovers, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Apex Games, Canon-Typical Violence, Drinking, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kings Canyon (Apex Legends), Mirage | Elliott Witt Needs a Hug, Mirage | Elliott Witt is a Mess, Mirage | Elliott Witt's Bar, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Swearing, Touch-Starved Bloodhound (Apex Legends), mirage deals with anxiety, mirages mom deals with dementia, or alzheimer, pre season five but post season four, solace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarkatVantabulous/pseuds/KarkatVantabulous
Summary: After Boodhound uses an unaware Mirage for a nightly training session, they express their gratitude to the decoy deploying legend. As time goes on they learn that perhaps the Mirage the universe knows isn't his true self.
Relationships: Bloodhound & Lifeline | Ajay Che, Bloodhound & Makoa Gibraltar, Bloodhound & Octane | Octavio Silva, Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt, Caustic | Alexander Nox & Wattson | Natalie Paquette, Lifeline | Ajay Che & Octane | Octavio Silva, Mirage | Elliott Witt & Pathfinder, Mirage | Elliott Witt & Wraith | Renee Blasey, Pathfinder & Wraith | Renee Blasey, anything without a / means theyre friends dw
Comments: 31
Kudos: 198





	1. Solace sweet Solace

**Author's Note:**

> hi and thanks for reading my fic! I use old norse for bloodhound and i use an old norse translator so sorry if some translations are off! Also please let me know if you see any instances where i don't use they/them to describe bloodhound so i can fix that ASAP! Sometimes when I'm writing I end up using gendered pronouns to describe them bc my brain is still thinking about a different person in that same scene. Translations will be at the end notes!

A shrill alarm startled Elliot Witt awake. He jumped up and quickly shut his phone off, hoping that the noise didn't wake anyone else up at this ungodly hour.

It was two in the morning and Elliot was currently grabbing a bag he had filled just hours earlier with his holo-tech and the very comfortable suit he wears while fighting the bloodthirsty fight that is the Apex Games. When he checked and double checked that everything was inside, Mirage quietly opened the door of the room he was assigned by the games' coordinators. All the Apex Legends got a comfy little room of their own on their drop ship. Except it wasn't always a drop ship which confused the _hell_ out of Elliot.

Okay, so, it's a drop ship way bigger than a normal plane kind of aircraft, you know for the rooms and the kitchen and bathrooms and stuff, but when the games were done the ship parked itself and sort of connected to a _waaay_ bigger facility and it's like it was never a ship! You press a button and _boom!_ , everyone's rooms gets a wall and a door. Another button and _bam!_ , your closet comes out of the wall and bed out of the floor. Super weird, super confusing. Elliot tries not to think about it too much.

With his door safely secured, Elliot let out a sigh and quickly made his way out of the legends, uh, room area and into the quiet halls of the legend facilities. God he was so ready to leave, so ready to be back in his own home (sort of) and away from the constant surveillance and "guidance" and questions and training and bickering and overall stress that was being an Apex Legend. And a good one at that! Elliot was great, one of the best! He was an Apex Predator after all, only those guys got the special rooms and training areas and their own drop ship and-

Surveillance.

Elliot whipped around only to be met with the eyes of the nearly camouflaged bird. If it weren't for the low lights somewhat illuminating the halls right now Elliot would've never seen the pure black raven- or is it a crow? He always forgets.- that is by Bloodhounds side almost 24/7.

"H-Hey little guy." Elliot laughed quietly. "Almost gave me a heart attack there." He crouched down and smiled softly at the bird. It was friendly, for the most part. Outside of the ring bird didn't mind being around people, sometimes if you had food he'd fly over to you and stare until you gave him a piece. If you didn't then he'd sit himself on your shoulder and try to take it from you. "What're you up to? It's midnight- no it's early in the morning- fuck. It's really late and dark." Hesitantly, Elliot reached out and held a finger towards the raven. "I don't have any food on me so if that's why you stopped me you're out of luck." The raven hopped closer. "God, what's your name again? I know it, it's on top of my tongue. Or is it tip of my tongue?" The raven didn't respond for obvious reasons. "Uhh, Archie? No, Artie? No no, Arthur?"

_"Artur."_ Taken by surprise, Elliot fell back on his ass and scrambled towards the bird. In his very deep and interesting conversation with his avian friend the very skilled Apex Legend had failed to notice the soft glow of red that illuminated the walls behind him.

Artur cawed and hopped onto Elliot's leg, using him as a sort of boost to fly back up to Bloodhound's waiting arm.

"R-Right." Elliot stood up, trying his best to regain his composure. "What're you doing up? You strat- stur- spooked me."

"Training." Elliot cocked his head to the side and Bloodhound elaborated. "To keep my skills sharp, my _félagi_ will set out at night and find something for me to hunt. He stays with the prey until I successfully track it down."

Oh. Well that definitely isn't weird.

"Arthur's just been hanging out with me this whole time." Elliot laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I probably messed up your whole training session. Sorry 'bout that."

" _Nei_. The hunt is over. I have won this time." Ok, maybe it's starting to get a bit weird. "Tonight, Artur has chosen you as the prey." Bloodhound lifted a finger and gingerly pet his raven's neck, Artur let out a low caw in gratitude. "Though I think that perhaps tonight was too simple."

"Well...isn't that uhh, cool." Elliot laughed again and rocked back and forth on his heels. "You know if you two were going to choose me to hunt down tonight the least you coulda done is take me out to dinner first." Bloodhound didn't respond but Elliot swore he heard a quiet amused grunt. "A-Anyway. I gotta get going now. The responsta- reponsta- duties of a successful bar owner never ends."

"Mirage." Elliot paused in his tracks. Not like he had walked more than five steps away from Bloodhound. "Thank þú, for participating. Perhaps...sometime I will express my gratitude to you. In a way that is meaningful for you." Huh?

"No no, don't worry abo-" Elliot turned around as he spoke but Bloodhound had already quietly walked away. "Okay. Nice talk." Elliot sighed and turned back around. Conversations with Bloodhound were always interesting. Confusing, mysterious, and interesting.

As Elliot made his way out of the Apex facilities and into the streets of Solace he took in a deep breath and smiled to himself. He loved the times he was able to leave the facilities and go back to his bar and just...relax. He felt like he was living a double life. During the games he was Mirage, holographic trickster, master of disguise, Apex Predator and champion of the ring (sometimes), but in the time between the games he was Elliot Witt. Owner of the Paradise Lounge.

Don't get him wrong, Elliot _loved_ the games. He loved the fame and the glory and the money. But sometimes it just became so goddamn much. The training, the fighting (not in the games but outside. More so now that someone new just became a legend and happens to have lifelong beef with a certain terrifying murderbot. But Elliot wouldn't name names. He just wouldn't do that to Loba and Revenant. _Oops_.), and just the overall...god what's the word? Babysitting? Controlling? Whatever. You get it. Elliot liked being on his own. Independent. 100% in control of himself.

The Paradise Lounge looked like an oasis in a desert, or a syringe after being fatally wounded after a super long fight against like three different teams. Unlocking the door and walking in, Elliot greeted his bar and felt his energy regenerating.

The guy he left in charge while he was out left the place looking absolutely spotless. Seriously, the place looked like it was sparkling.

Elliot took the cleaning supplies out anyway. Yeah it was three in the morning. Yeah the place was already clean, so what? He was feeling energized and happy to be back in such a familiar place.

After spending hours scrubbing the floor, wiping down the counters, washing every goddamn glass and making sure the remaining bathrooms (one of the upstairs men's rooms was turned into a bedroom a long time ago) were clean, Elliot whipped out his phone and snapped a picture. He always did this when he came back home. Took a picture, printed it out, scribbled the date on it and slapped it on a wall in his bedroom. It was a tradition he started after his first game. Why? He didn't exactly know.

Glancing over at the clock he began making a mental list of what to do next. Seeing as it was approximately eight in the morning now, he deemed it best to run down to the local gym and take a shower before heading out and buying some much needed groceries for the bar. Usually shipments came in but in those small times he was back he liked going out and getting everything himself.

A few hours pass and Elliot is able to get his chores done relatively quickly. Since he started early he was, thankfully, not approached by mobs of fans. Taking pictures, begging for autographs, asking for advice or the chance to meet one of the other legends. It was nice, he felt like his old self again. By the time he returned to the bar it was nearly one in the afternoon. Exhaustion had caught up with him and he collapsed on his bed with the intent to only take a quick nap.

—

"Elliot? Elliot? Friend, are you awake?" A cold and rough finger poked Elliot's cheek. He groaned and turned over to face the voice but refusing to open his eyes.

"Whuh time's it?"

"It's nearly opening time! I came in an hour ago and set everything up so you could sleep some more." Although his eyes weren't open, Elliot could picture the screen displaying a bright yellow smiley face.

"Thanks Path." Elliot yawned and got up, slowly opening his eyes and being greeted with Pathfinder standing excitedly in front of him. "You didn't have to come in you know. You don't work for me."

"I love helping my friend! And I get to meet many new and exciting people while working here." Pathfinder shuffled to the side, his mechanically body making way too much noise. How did Elliot manage to sleep through that? "I've already reinstalled the receipt paper and menu so I am ready to help!"

"You know, even though you can be kind of creepy sometimes you're a big help."

"You're welcome! I love you too!"

"Allll right that's not- that isn't- you know what let's just move on." Elliot sighed out, grabbing his bag that held his holo-tech. "Anyone coming tonight?"

"Wraith is! However she said she was unsure if Wattson and Dr.Caustic would be joining her." Elliot nodded and made sure all of his gear was on properly. Just after becoming an Apex Legend Elliot modified his tech to help him around at the bar. His decoys would walk around, interact with fans, and take orders. Now if only he could have them make actual physical drinks and Elliot would never need to have anyone work at his bar. Except maybe Pathfinder. 

"Great. You're the DJ for the night." 

\--

"No no, you know me," Mirage chuckled, winking at the three women that were talking to him as he prepared their drinks, "I'm as cool as a coconut under pressure. Or is it cucumber? Whatever." The women giggled. "But you know, when you're in a blood-sport, shooting people left and right, tensions get high. That's why I like to see myself as the most important part of any team. When my squad and I are in the top three and we're low on supplies, I'm the guy that'll lighten the mood, get everyone's spirits back up. I'll crack a joke here and there and boom! Everyone's ready to get back out there and win."

"I can't wait to watch you in the next season!" One of the three exclaimed as she took her drink from Mirage. "I was just SO SAD when I saw that this season got cut short because of that new legend blowing up half the map." 

"Yeah well, next season you better believe the best looking champion will be kicking ass." The group giggled and thanked Mirage, sneaking their phone numbers in with the money. He never called or messaged any of the numbers, but he did keep them. He didn't know why. Maybe it's because he liked the attention, the positive reinforcement. The knowledge that there were people out there that didn't know him at all but liked him.

Elliot sighed and turned around, grabbing a glass and beginning to clean it off before someone else spoke up, grabbing his attention.

"Two appletinis and a jack and coke." Elliot smiled and turned back around.

"Yeesh, can't even get a hello?" Elliot ducked down and grabbed the needed glasses and ingredients. "Two appeltinis? Caustic sure is going ham tonight huh? Usually the guy only wants water." Wraith chuckled and leaned against the bar. She had her hair down tonight, it was weird not seeing her hair up. 

Elliot glanced behind her and saw Caustic and Wattson sitting in a booth. Wattson smiled and waved erratically at Elliot, nearly smacking Caustic with her robotic arm. He waved back.

"You know, I'll never understand how Caustic can have such an...interesting fashion sense. I mean, he dresses like he's a, uhh, i dunno. He dresses funny and none of his clothes really fit his mad scientist aesthetic besides his crazy game gear, ya know? I don't know why the guy just doesn't wear lab coats everywhere." Wraith hummed and nodded. 

A moment of silence filled the two. It was making Elliot a bit nervous but he tried to concentrate on just making the drinks. 

"Have you called her yet?" Wraith asked, not looking at Elliot. He froze for a moment, before sighing and mumbling 'no'. "You know you should."

"I know..."

"You know putting it off will only make it harder for you."

"I-I know but...I ju-just don't..." Elliot sighed again, staring at the drinks in front of him. "I don't want to hear her freak out. Not after the last game and how it ended." 

"I understand, but you know you'll have to do it soon."

"No duh. Not like I was cosin- consind- thinking about never calling her again." 

"Hey." Wraith placed a hand on Elliot's shoulder and patted him gently. "It'll be fine. It always ends up being fine." She smiled at him. Elliot smiled slightly before pulling out the charisma and confidence the universe knows him for.

"'Course it'll be fine! I'm Mirage, Apex Predator and smartest legend." Wraith rolled her eyes and Mirage waved Pathfinder over. "Anyway, back to business." Pathfinder greeted Wraith as Elliot used the keyboard just under Pathfinder's screen to type out their bill. 

"Drinks are on Alexander tonight." Elliot grinned and ripped the receipt off of Pathfinder before handing him the tray of drinks and the bill.

"In that case, Path you mind telling him I made his drink with extra love?"

"No problem, friend!" His screen changed and now displayed the cute pinkish face with hearts all around. Wraith chuckled and the two of them walked away.


	2. Late Night Bar Visit

"Mom? Hey, it's me, Elliot." Elliot's leg was shaking, his hand gripping the blankets on his bed like his life depended on it.

"No...No sorry, you must have the wrong number...my son he..." Evelyn Witt burst out in tears and Elliot held back his own. In the background he could hear her caregivers consoling her.

"N-No mom. It's really me. It's Elliot."

"You can't be him! I saw him! I saw him die during the games! My baby...my last baby, h-he's gone!" Tears started streaming down his cheeks and he willed himself to talk as normal as possible.

"M-Mom I already told you, I-I'm an Apex Perd- Predate- fuck what is it. I'm a legend. Remember mom? I'm one of the top ones, we get the special treatment."

"But I saw him, the last game, he was killed by the airstrike..." Elliot let in a shaky breath and shut his eyes tightly, hoping the tears would stop.

"Remember I explained it to you before this game? B-Because I'm one of the top players the Syndicate keeps me alive to fight in more games, even if I lose some. Remember mom? Only the newer players or the, uh, not as good ones die for real. Remember?"

There was no response from his mom. All he could hear was her quiet sobs and some unintelligible talking from her caregiver. Elliot quickly wiped his face and loosened his grip on his blankets. Finally, after what felt like forever, she spoke again.

"Elliot...? You're alive?" He smiled and a fresh set of tears began rolling down his cheeks.

"Yeah mom, 'course I'm alive. I can't just leave my number one fan hanging can I? Besides, how can they kill such an incra- incre- an amazingly handsome guy like me?" Evelyn laughed lightly and Elliot could feel the warmth of her smile through the phone.

"I'm so glad you're okay Elliot. Where are you? Where've you been?"

"I'm at the bar, mom. I just got back from the games remember?" She went quiet and Elliot knew he was losing her.

"Hello? Who am I talking to?" There it was. Elliot swallowed thickly and sighed.

"It's me, Elliot, your son..."

"Oh! Elliot I'm so glad you called. I've missed you! Oh, I'm being told I have to do something else right now. Call me later sweetheart. Momma loves you."

"Love you too, mom." The call didn't end, instead Elliot waited for Cynthia, his mom's caregiver, to speak.

"Hi Mr.Witt." Her tone was soft and comforting. Elliot was glad his mom had someone so gentle with her. "Your mom's condition hasn't changed. Just wanted to let you know she hasn't gotten any worse. Oh and the Syndicate doctors you paid for have been working with her, trying to help her as best they can."

"Thanks, Cyn. You think i'll be able to go down there one of these days and see her?"

"I think it'll do her good. She's been talking about you a lot more recently. She'd be happy as can be to see you. Just let me know when you plan on coming down and I can rearrange her schedule." Elliot smiled and thanked her again before hanging up.

It was a week since Wraith told him to call his mom. He thought the longer he waited the more ready he would be. He was wrong. Hearing his mother sob at the thought of losing her son absolutely _killed_ Elliot. It felt worse than Wraith stabbing him with her kunai or being sniped with a kraber from across the map.

"Come on Elliot." He stood up, taking in a deep breath. "It's no big deal. Come on." He pulled on an old jacket and walked over to the mirror on the wall. He began running his fingers through his hair, too tired to fix it up but not willing to walk out of this room without at least trying to look decent. So Elliot took on the task of gelling his hair so it looked so good that if anyone stopped to take a picture of him they'd focus on how great his hair looked and not on his sloppy outfit.

Pocketing his phone, Elliot walked out of his room and locked the door before heading downstairs and into the bar. Pathfinder was there, wiping the bar down. When he saw Elliot his screen changed to an exclamation mark before going back to a happy face.

"Hi Elliot!"

"Hey Path. I told you last night you didn't have to be here. The other workers are coming back in tonight."

"I know, but I like being here! And I have news- wait, I don't have news. I mean, I don't think I have news but I was told to not say anything just in case." Okay, weird.

"Soooo can I hear the news?" The screen changed again, this time to what Elliot thought was either a crying face or a sweating face. He never knew which one.

"Sorry friend. I can't say!"

"Let me guess." Mirage walked behind the bar and began checking his stock of nacho chips. The patrons loved these, the drunker ones went ballistic for them. "Uhhh, Murderbot was given full permission to leave the Apex facilities and is coming down here to eat me?" Path shook his head. "Okay. Ajay's coming down to drink every last bottle of tequila I have because of Octane? Maybe he blew his arms off this time?" Another no.

"Sorry friend, I really can't say anything." Elliot sighed and wrote down a small list of things he needed to buy.

"You know, I'll remember this the next time we're in the ring." Elliot smirked as Pathfinder's screen changed from the exclamation point back to what he thought, given the current context, was a crying face. "I'll be back soon, hold up the fort for me. No wait, hold down the fort. That's it."

\--

It was closing time. The bar was empty and Elliot was tired. Even with more people helping tonight than the past week he was dead tired. It was three in the morning and he's been working nonstop since six in the evening. He urged Pathfinder to go back to the Apex Facilities to sleep or recharge, whatever it was he did, but the robot said he had to do something first before he could leave. He refused to give Elliot any context so eventually he just let Pathfinder do whatever he wanted.

"Hello." Someone had silently sat down at the bar, in front of Elliot. He didn't recognize them. He would've remembered someone with three red markings (were they tattoos? They looked like it.)on their face.

"Oh, uh, hi. Welcome." Elliot regained his composure and smiled. "Sorry kid, we're closed for the night. My buddy Path-" Elliot looked up only to see Pathfinder gone. "Shit, well, I don't know where he went. Well I mean I know but- You know, we're closed."

"I know, _félagi_ , I asked him to let me in before he left for the night." Huh? Elliot looked the stranger up and down. He _knew_ who they were and yet it just didn't click. They wore goggles, similar to those that Elliot wears in the ring, and their dark brown hair fell just on top of the goggles, a faint but visible webbed scar snaked up their neck and stopped just above their chin. Their voice was so familiar...

It didn't click until Arthur cawed and flew onto the counter. Elliot snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Bloodhound! I knew it was you." Bloodhound smiled softly. "What brings you here so late? Or just in general. I don't think I've ever seen you here. Or outside the facilities."

"I am keeping my promise. I am repaying you for helping me the other night." Elliot barely remembered that night, let alone any promise.

"Shit uh, you don't- I mean you didn't have to."

"Nonsense. It was an honor to have trained with you, even if you weren't aware." Elliot sighed. He didn't have the energy to really push this any further so he'd let Bloodhound do what he wanted. Was he being a pushover tonight? He felt like it.

"All right all right. I get it, can't get enough of me in the ring huh?" He chuckled, grabbing some left over chips and giving small pieces to Artur. "So, what'd you have in mind?"

"I know that I do not know you very well. However I do know you enjoy talking." Okay, ouch. That was mean. True, but a little mean. "And I am willing to sit here and _mæla_ with you." Elliot checked his phone before responding.

"Y-You really came here at three in the morning to have a conserv- coserva- talk with me?" Elliot was surprised. Bloodhound could've came in, what?, hours ago while the bar was open to talk. They could've walked in tomorrow afternoon when Elliot and Pathfinder were setting up.

" _Jà._ " Huh. Elliot blinked before shrugging and accepting it.

"All right then, can I pour you a drink before we start chatting it up?"

"A coffee, if you have any." Elliot grinned and hopped over the counter, going to a closet and pulling out an old coffee maker.

"You, my friend, are in luck. I use this bad boy when I'm feeling especially tired at work. Thankfully I love my job too much to feel that way," Elliot grinned and winked at Bloodhound, "but my employees use it almost regularly." He plugged the machine in and dig around in a drawer for the coffee. As he began setting the machine up, Elliot glanced over at Bloodhound. "So uh, can I ask where your mask is?"

"Ah," Bloodhound returned their gaze to Elliot, "I removed it for the time being. I didn't wish to be recognized by those who call themselves my fans. I find no true glory in the fame I have earned and those who praise me tend to...over do it. I like to keep myself humble, remind myself that I am doing this to honor the Allfather and my brethren before me."

"Huh," Elliot grabbed two pint glasses, he didn't have any mugs in the bar so they'd have to do, "Ya know I always thought you needed that thing to like, breathe. Like Caustic with his gross lungs and coughing."

"It helps me greatly but it isn't fully necessary. Not yet at least. It is a very warm night and I need it more in colder temperatures." Elliot poured the two cups of coffee, digging in that same cabinet and grabbing a handful of sugar packets.

"Why just cold tempa- temperatures?"

"An incident that happened long ago. When I was just a _ungr_ warrior." Bloodhound looked up and explained. "A young warrior."

"Ahhh." Elliot has already dumped in ten sugar packets before deeming his coffee drinkable. Bloodhound had yet to put a single one in. "So uh..." Dammit he was drawing a blank. He's been so used to being just Elliot again it felt like the personality that the Syndicate encouraged was sleeping soundly as he panicked in the next room. "Uh, what do you think of the place? Nice right?"

"To be quite honest," Bloodhound took a sip of their coffee, "I expected it to be flashier. Something like the ship you have parked in World's Edge." Elliot snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Nah, that one was made by the syndicate for the games. I mean i obviously oversaw its creations and gave ideas but I don't think I would be able to work in place that has such giant and embarrassing oil paintings of myself." Bloodhound smiled. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the Mirage Voy'age is the best thing I have ever seen but the Paradise Lounge is special to me. Besides, I don't think my customers would appreciate having me _everywhere_. I know me using my holograms to help out around here is already pushing it."

Bloodhound hummed and took another sip of their coffee. A rude comment about a certain grappling-hook carrying robot that worked there almost slipped past their lips. But they stayed silent and polite. Not tonight, this night was about Mirage and Bloodhound thanking him for his involuntary help. 

"So, I've always wanted to ask," Elliot sprinkled some more chip crumbs for Artur, "when you're in the ring and you use your uh, uhh, redy glowy eye thing, how's it work?" 

"Simple. I spend my life proving myself to the Allfather, honoring them, and I get the strength of nature's finest beasts in return. I become a _ríkr_ warrior. I suppose the simplest way to think of it is that nature's spirit is entering my body, guiding me, helping me _taka_ the _vinna_."

"S-So the glowly red thing is the Allfather- no, it's nature's spirit?" Bloodhound nodded. "That's pretty freaking cool. You know before the games I didn't think that things like portal hopping and nature ghosts would be something so like, real? I guess? I dunno how else to put it." 

"And prior to the games I never thought I would see the day a man duplicates himself or cloaks himself so he is invisible to the naked eye." Elliot grinned, a surge of confidence appearing from Bloodhound's comment. 

"Well, I mean, I am the smartest guy in the games." Elliot leaned against the bar, his elbow propping him up. Bloodhound noted the subtle change in Mirage. When they first walked in it was like he was a completely different person, a bit quieter, maybe comparable to a surprised animal. Cautious and nervous at the sudden appearance of a stranger. Now, he's back to the Mirage that walks into the formal Apex events with his clones fighting off every man, woman and person throwing themselves at him. "I-In fact, I've been coming up with ways to improve my holo-tech. I mean, I don't know why I didn't think of doing this in the first place! Thinking about it, I've actually _been_ doing it since the beginning but not in a way that would be super effec- effici- helpful in the ring. I mean, I'm going to have to go through some old notes and completely copy some work then rework it but it is going to absolutely blow everyone's minds! And not to mention I dropped by an old storage unit where I put a lot of my mom and I's prototypes of the holo-tech to keep them safe and I went out and bought some adjustable and stretchy straps to replace the harder custom fitting ones that I use so I can give one to my squadmates to-" 

Elliot stopped suddenly, his ears turning a bit red. He shifted his weight nervously.

"Sorry. I got carried away." Bloodhound smiled softly and shook their head.

"Do not apologize, _félagi._ I came here tonight to express my gratitude by having a conversation with you. Besides, I find your talk of technology fascinating. Normally I have little patience for it but hearing you share your knowledge is most enjoyable since you hardly seem to share this with the others." 

"I-I mean I can't take all the credit..." Elliot grinned, looking down at his empty cup and rubbing the back of his neck, "My mom taught me everything I know. Even helped me make my own holo-tech."

"Your mother is Evelyn Witt correct? I believe I've heard Wattson mention her. What is she doing as of late?"

Elliot paused, the memory of his earlier conversation with his mom flooding his mind. 

"Oh...y-you know. This and that. Real busy gal. What with being a genius and my number one fan...she's just, you know, super super busy all the time..." Elliot grabbed the two cups and wiped the chip crumbs off the counter. "A-Anyway, you heading back to the facilities? I was gonna head back tomorrow to work on some stuff but since you're here I could join you back."

"I am, and if you so wish to accompany me back we can make our way whenever you'd like." 

"Yeah just give me a second to clean this up and put this machine away. Can you do me a favor? Upstairs there's a door with a lock on it," Elliot dug through his pocket and handed Bloodhound a key, "It's my bedroom, can you grab the bag with games' logo on it? It has my gear in it." Bloodhound nodded and held their arm out for Artur to hop onto and make way up to their shoulder. 

Bloodhound noted the switch in Mirage's mood. From a frightened creature to a confident predator and then down to a wounded puppy. They took note to not mention his mother, it was clearly a sore subject and Bloodhound wouldn't push a subject that was obviously unpleasant. 

They unlocked and opened the door, Artur cawing and flying in the dark over to Mirage's bed. Bloodhound flicked on the light switch and was surprised, to say in the least, at the state of Mirage's room. It was definitely different from the one back at the facilities. 

A bed pushed up into a corner with many thick blankets and a closet door open slightly were the first things they saw. Then it was the wall just besides his bed that caught Bloodhound's attention. It was covered in pictures, many of the games. Different squads, pictures of all the Predators together, pictures of himself after he won his first game. Underneath those were pictures of his bar, Bloodhound couldn't tell the difference between those pictures as they all looked the same but with different dates scribbled underneath. Then, separated from the rest of the photos, as if he was trying to keep them safe and secret from the Apex Games, were photos of a family. 

Bloodhound walked closer and examined the photographs on the wall. Four young men and their mother smiled at the camera, a moment caught and immortalized in time. The photo was old and dog-eared, likely folded up and often shoved in pockets or wallets many times to be kept close. Another showed Mirage, older now, with an old woman who was likely his mother. The two were working on something. Another picture displayed the two of them but this time there was a certain aura of sadness on Mirage's features, even if he was smiling widely. He was young in this photo, his mother had her hands placed on his shoulders and had the same sad feeling. It wasn't until Bloodhound compared that photo with another did they realize that Mirage's brothers weren't there.

Artur cawed, snapping Bloodhound back to reality. 

"Come, _félagi,"_ Bloodhound grabbed Mirage's bag and Artur flew back to perch on their shoulder, "We mustn't keep our friend waiting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words that bloodhound uses!:  
> rikr: powerful  
> felagi: companion  
> mæla: talk  
> ungr: young  
> taka: take  
> vinna: win


	3. Updates and Upgrades

Rubbing his eyes and swearing under his breath, Elliot thought about going back in time and choosing something simpler in life. He could've been someone's trophy husband. He could've just stayed at the bar forever. Anything would be better than stay up all night messing with his holo-tech in the labs by himself. Why was he by himself? He worked better this way so he worked at night. He could concentrate on his gear and not have to worry about Caustic working on some more poison gas or Wattson nearly electrocuting herself and others. Though Elliot does admit, he wished he could work with others. It's a curse, really, not being able to focus without absolute and complete silence. He was a talkative and social person, the silence and solitude kind of got to him.

"Focus, Elliot." He slapped his cheeks lightly in an attempt to wake himself up. "You got most of it working, great! Just gotta figure out how to make sure me _and_ my teammate go fully invisible when healing them up." Another two weeks has passed since Elliot's late night talk with Bloodhound and his genius struck him. It was an idea that he's been working at almost non stop and thanks to older work, it was pretty easy to get working.

He hasn't seen Bloodhound since that night. He doesn't know why or how that's even possible, as far as he knows Bloodhound doesn't exactly like to leave the facilities. But whatever, he couldn't focus on Bloodhound or where they were. Elliot had more important matters to attend to. Though maybe it was the hunter that struck his inspiration? What if he just looked around for them? Struck up a quick conversation just to get his brain up and running again.

No, no no no. Stop it Elliot. Focus on what you're doing. Bloodhound doesn't even want to talk to you anyway. They're probably working on something or sleeping. Just...focus.

Picking up the tablet that held notes and diagrams, he sat down and and began looking them over. Again.

The words were written in his mother's handwriting. She always said she preferred to write things on her own as opposed to typing them, even if she had computers and tablets. She'd used a screen-safe pen and would scribble away ideas and plans. In her mind it helped her remember things or come up with solutions quicker. At the time Elliot never really understood but now he doesn't care, seeing his mother's handwriting made him smile softly and remember the times before the games spent in the labs working tirelessly on the holo-tech.

"Hey." Elliot jumped up, the tablet nearly slipping through his fingers. Wraith and Pathfinder were standing silently in the doorway. Damn, how did he manage to tune out Path's obnoxiously creaky movements again? "We figured you'd be here."

"We haven't seen you recently, friend. You've been sleeping the days away." Wraith leaned her back against a wall, crossing her arms. Pathfinder being Pathfinder walked right up to Elliot and sat himself in the seat next to him. "At first I was concerned for your well-being so I talked to our friend Wraith."

"And I told him you were either going back to the bar at nights and coming here to sleep and shower in the same place." She leaned over and looked at the pile of gear on the table and tablet in Elliot's hands. "But I guess I was wrong."

"What? You couldn't just tell yourself what I was up to?" Wraith rolled her eyes. "I've just been in here improving my tech. Nothing special. I'll probably be done in the next week or so then you'll wish I was going back to the bar nightly." He grinned and winked, getting no reaction from her. "But yeah, this is basically what I've been up to. You know me, can't work with Caustic staring me down and considering using me as his next test subject."

"And Natalie? I'm sure she'd love to help you."

"Nahh," Elliot waved the suggestion away, "I'm sure she's got more stuff falling off her plate than most what with literally working on the ring. Did I say that right?"

"I think the saying goes stuff placed on her plate!" Pathfinder's screen changed to a question mark. Both of them turned to look at Wraith for confirmation.

"Stuff on her plate." Ah.

"Anyway, I don't wanna ruin the allu-illusion that I'm not the smartest guy here. Give's me that extra element of surprise, ya know?" Wraith hummed. She knew what the reason was, it wasn't hard to figure out. Elliot couldn't handle distractions, couldn't handle being able to focus solely on his gear and trying to be the life of the party at the same time. "If that's all you're here for..."

"Eager to get rid of us?" Wraith cocked her head to the side with a smile on her face. Although she couldn't see it she knew Path's screen had changed to a sad face. "We haven't seen you in forever and now you're kicking us out? Harsh, thought we were your friends."

"Oh so _now_ we're friends but when I wanna take a trip to our _favorite_ party ship, made by yours truly, I'm 'not your friend' and 'interrupting important training'?" Wraith rolled her eyes.

"Relax pretty boy-"

"So you _do_ think I'm pretty?" Oh god. Wraith was so close to stabbing him.

"I think you're pretty! You are by far the prettiest best friend I've had! But you are the only best friend I've had..." Correction, she was so close to stabbing him _and_ Pathfinder.

"I wanted to ask you how it went with your mom. I know you talked to her a couple weeks ago." Elliot's mood dropped and he looked down at the tablet in his hands.

"Fine. I think it went fine. It went...exactly as expected." He sighed. "She cried, thought I was dead. I explained to her that I am legally not allowed to die in the games thanks to the Syndicate. She was happy. Forgot where I was and where I've been. Forgot _who_ I was then Cynthia took her off the phone, probably to see a doctor I sent over."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Elliot spoke again.

"I-I just...I don't like doing it...not after games where I bite the dust. I don't like her thinking her only son is dead. I'm just hoping that maybe, maybe, these miracle worker doctors they have here can wave their magic steto- setho- steth- fuck. Magic heart hearing thingy-"

"Stethoscope."

"-stethoscope and at least slow it down or stop it now before it gets worse. They did that with Caustic and his death lungs, they do it with us during the games, why can't they do it with her y'know?"

"I am sorry that you're sad, Elliot." Pathfinder put a very heavy hand on Elliot's shoulder. "It makes me sad to see you sad."

"Thanks buddy, you're crushing my shoulder."

"Oh, sorry."

"I'm sure your mom will be fine." Wraith walked over to the other two and now leaned against the table. "They don't get paid unreasonable amounts of money to just stick a band-aid on you and call it a day."

"Right, right. I know that... But enough of this sad stuff." He stood up and and patted the table. "Look at what everyone's favorite trickster has been doing." Elliot quickly grabbed his gear and began sliding it on, explaining as he did. "Just a couple of weeks ago motivation struck! As we all know I have been using my handsome holograms to fool people in the ring and serve people in the bar. And lately I thought to myself, hey, why not _combine_ the two!" Elliot flipped a small switch that hid safely underneath underneath one of his holo-disks on his wrist. With a swift motion over all the disks on his arms five duplicates appeared and essentially surrounded the trio. Now, Wraith and Pathfinder were used to seeing Mirage's multiples. They were squadmates more than once and trained together multiple times. What caught them off guard was that this time the holograms _moved_ and became exact mirrors of Elliot's smallest movements.

"Isn't this awesome?" Elliot smiled widely. "I just had to simplify the mode I use when I switch from ring decoys to bar decoys. Now instead of going off on their own and acting like actual people it's me! Me in motion and in numbers!" He shut his gear off and the holograms disappeared in an instant.

"I've got to hand it to you, this is insanely useful." Elliot bowed at Wraith's compliment. "I haven't seen you this motivated to upgrade your gear since you won your first game. Was it Bloodhound that inspired you?"

"Yeah actually! They came down to the bar and- wait a minute." Elliot looked at Wraith, then Pathfinder. "So you can't tell me but you can go out and open your non-existing, wait, non- _existent_ mouth to her?"

"Sorry Elliot!" Pathfinder raised his hands defensively. "They told me to not tell you because they weren't sure if they even wanted to leave the facility! And they were pretty rude about it so I didn't want to upset them. I don't think Bloodhound likes me very much..."

"Whatever." Elliot rolled his eyes and turned back to Wraith. "Yeah. They swung by the bar after hours and said they wanted to talk so we did and I just got to talking about my gear and I felt like Octane when he uses his stim-drug thing. Ready and super eager to go and work on it."

"That's nice of them." Wraith smiled. "Usually they keep to themselves, even during the games. Business only. I wonder what got into them."

Elliot shrugged. No way was he going to say the only reason why Bloodhound even bothered to talk to him was because he felt the need to thank him for a surprise game of hide and seek. It'd be too weird to explain and he didn't want either of them to be paranoid. Pathfinder was already picking fights with Arthur.

"It's getting late, we'll leave you to," Wraith waved her hand at the holo-disks on the table, "yourself." The two began walking out, Elliot looking back between his friends and the gear on the table. He hopped up and jogged after them.

"I-I think I'll head in early tonight. You know, don't want the gang to miss me after only being noctin- noturn- a night owl. Besides," He wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders (or at least tried, Pathfinder was unreasonably tall), "It takes _a lot_ of beauty sleep to look _this_ good." 

Did that come out right?

\--

**Message sent from: APEX GAMES COORDINATORS  
Sent to: BANGALORE, BLOODHOUND, CAUSTIC, CRYPTO, GIBRALTAR, LIFELINE, LOBA, MIRAGE, OCTANE, PATHFINDER, REVENANT, WATTSON, WRAITH  
Subject matter: NEWEST ARRIVAL, ARENA UPDATES, UPCOMING TRAINING**

**Hello all, as you all know we have a newest addition to the Apex Legends/Apex Predator roster: Loba. We know there has been reports of turmoil between our newest fighter and Revenant so we have taken it into our hands to separate the two as best we can. If any of you spot the two interacting with each other in a hostile manner (whether it be verbal or physical) please DO NOT attempt to stop their interaction in any way shape or form. Instead, instantly report the altercation and one of our staff members will handle the situation. We must all remember that one is a dangerous simulacrum who will not hesitate to kill. While we have snatched many if not all of you back from death many times we cannot guarantee immediate help outside of the game's normal working hours. **

**As you all know we have come by some recent difficulties with our arena in Kings Canyon. For the past few weeks our team has been working tirelessly trying to map out and plan ways to use these 'explosive' new changes to our beloved arena while still making sure none of you are harmed by any of the areas newly weakened earth. For a while we considered switching over entirely to our arena in Talos, World's Edge, but have decided to instead use this unexpected change to our advantage. We are excited to see the audience and your reactions to the newer area in King's Canyon.**

**In order for our newest arrival to get a feel for the arena, the games, and our rules, we have decided to do several things.  
ONE: Loba will be placed in both King's Canyon and World's Edge for one day without anyone to help her understand the different arenas.   
TWO: Loba will be placed in a QUALIFIERS GAME as a practice for herself.  
THREE: Teams of two (teams may be chosen) of everyone on the Predator roster will be placed in King's Canyon as a practice game. More information on this will come at a later date. KEEP IN MIND: the arena may change, we may decide to hold TWO practice games (one in each arena), and one or both may be televised for audience enjoyment. **

**We will be giving a one week notice before Loba is placed into the arenas on her own as to give everyone a chance to do some minor training. There is no need to put in a team request as this is just a practice. And we understand that there is now an odd number of you so we have made an executive decision to praise good, non-violent behavior. That is to say if there are little to no reports where Revenant is hostile towards Loba or vice versa then he will be allowed to join the practice games as a solo team.**

**As always, thank you for your cooperation. We will be sure to inform you all of any schedule changes. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.**


	4. Mark Elliot Down For Scared And [REDACTED]

"Ya know I don't know what the big deal is." Elliot huffed, "None of us got the star treatment she's getting. _'Ooh let's prepare three different practice games for you so you don't get hurt while playing a blood sport!'_ They didn't do that with us. Any of us!"

He was alone and in the dummy room (he hated that place) at night. Late at night actually. No reasonable person would be out at this hour to be in a room full of really creepy and mostly plastic dummies. Unfortunately Elliot wasn't a reasonable person. As he slid the holo-disk that has been keeping him up for nights onto the arm of one of the many dummies around him, he mumbled angrily to himself. So what if all the legends got that email three or four days ago, he was still mildly upset about it.

"I mean, sure when I first entered I didn't blow up part of the map then try to murder someone but I made a real good impression!" He pressed a button on the back of the dummy's neck then stood up and walked over to a nearby table that held his own gear. "The fans loved me! Everyone loved me! I was pretty great and I didn't even get the whole _'here's your preparing time'_ bit." Elliot switched on his gear and grabbed a wingman. "No one got that actually. Now that I think about it actually...they just threw us in there to die and if we were good enough they threw us in there to die a bunch of times." Elliot sighed and paused for a moment before throwing his hands up in the air in agitation. 

"We're good at what we do! I'm good at what we do! Right? That's why they threw us in all tilly-willy. Or is it willy-nilly? That one sounds right. But I'm good at what I do!" He looked over at the un-moving dummy as if asking for reassurance. "What if she's just so good at what she does that they're...uh..I-I don't know but what if she's just freaky good. And if she's freaky good then they'll start taking us off the predator roster." Now Elliot was pacing back and forth, mind going a million miles a minute. "I'd be the first to go...would I? Nah! ...What if I am? I mean...you got the-the portal jumper, robot, murderbot, mad scientist, crazy super fast guy, chick who works on the actual ring, nature spirit hunter...they'd all stay for sure. There's also Bangs but I don't think they'd kick her out, she already got mad as hell when Loba got in and Bangs is pretty, uh, intense when she's mad. There's the kid but they'd keep him for his _'oooh look at me I'm mysterious and cool and I can type really fast on computers and I have a little robot that can electrocute people'_ bit. Ajay maybe? No no, they'd keep her. I mean she's got all these sponsors! Then it's between me and Gibby." 

Elliot groaned loudly and dramatically (but softly) threw himself against the wall.

"If it's between him and I then obviously they'd keep him around! He's like," He waved his hands around trying to find the right words, "He's the guy everyone likes! The one that's just always happy and ready to help and just- UGH!" Hands flew up and covered his face, small groans filling the room. "I am doomed. This is it. I'm out of the games. They're going to call me tomorrow and say _'Mirage, you know, you're cool and all but we just decided that maybe you aren't apex material. Maybe you just suck a little too much? Maybe your decoys and bamboozles and looks are getting old. Go eat or grab or kick rocks!'_ Then I'll be just Elliot Witt again. Just a bar owner and...everyone will forget Mirage." He sighed and looked back at the dummy. "Why did I think being in the games would be a good idea? I build myself up and everyone sees me and knows me and _they_ know I'm perfect only for it to just...have it explode in my face. But they'll only know I'm perfect for so long until...they know I'm not." The dummy stayed silent for obvious reasons.

"What am I getting so worked up about. I mean, nothing's happened. Why would they take me off anyway? I'm just being dumb. They wouldn't take their sexiest man off the roster." 

Or maybe they would?

Elliot shook his head violently, trying to shake the topic out of his mind. He was making an executive decision right then and there to stop thinking.

"Dummy on."

In an instant the plastic red humanoid sprung to life. It was creepy, creepier than Pathfinder. It was used for training and Mirage always thought that they were silently judging him every time he missed a shot. Yeah he knows they don't have eyes or faces. They're creepy and come to life in a second.

"Okay. Test number uh, fuck, test number something." Elliot sighed and looked back at his tablet, making sure he was actually recording this time. He went a few times without recording and it really pissed him off. "Okay, cool, we are ready to roll." Aiming the wingman at the dummy's head, Elliot pulled the trigger a total of three times. The poor thing fell down and went into a fetus like position.

"If this doesn't work I will probably scream." He grabbed the revival kit that was used for training only and knelt down. He was testing how far away he had to be in order for the dummy's holo-disk to activate and connect with his own. Two feet away was definitely too far. One and a half and...yep still too far. One foot and Elliot could see their holo-disks blinking. This is good. "Do not attack me." He mumbled to the dummy, knowing full well it was incapable of doing that, as he scooted closer, close enough to drag the thing into his lap. The holo-disks stopped blinking and instead emitted a soft glow. Elliot grinned.

"Thank you almighty hologram gods! Hologods? Whatever, the point is I finally did it!"

_SLAM._

Elliot shut his mouth immediately and looked at the door with wide eyes. Something was out there and it was loud and he had no clue what or who it was. In retrospect he probably shouldn't have been yelling while everyone was asleep. Maybe he woke Revenant up and the guy was coming to eat him. Wait, did Revenant even sleep? Did he just shut down at night? Recharge? Wait, now's not the time to think about this.

Holding his breath and staying completely motionless, Elliot heard quiet footsteps make their way down the hall. Well, if it was an angry legend he'd be safe seeing as he managed to make himself completely invisible. A soft red glow illuminated the walls and if Elliot could exhale in relief he would. Bloodhound would be a good test. If they couldn't see Elliot and the dummy then he could go to bed and wake up feeling ready to take on the world. 

Heavy breathing echoed through the hall and into the dummy room as Elliot watched Bloodhound look around slowly. Obviously they were looking for something, probably training again, and Elliot did not intend to be that something again. He quickly looked around, still holding the dummy as close as possible so the two could remain cloaked, and confirmed that the hunter's raven was no where near him. 

Bloodhound stopped in front of the dummy room's open door and stared in. Elliot couldn't tell if they were looking at him but he didn't think so. 

The red glow dimmed down before disappearing completely. They stood there, still as a statue, and in a second Elliot remembered just how _terrifying_ they were in battle. He hunted legends down and looked them straight in the eye before killing them. 

Bloodhound reached their hands up behind their head and slowly took off their goggles. Cocking their head and eyes staring in Elliot's direction, Elliot shivered. He glanced quickly to his holo-disks to make sure they were still on and connected with the dummy's. Yep. Then he glanced at his recording tablet and just confirmed what he already knew: he and the downed dummy were completely invisible.

Bloodhound quirked an eyebrow and pushed their mask down, a smile on their lips.

"Convincing illusion, _félagi_. But you cannot fool the eyes of the hunter."

\--

Soft light began pouring into Elliot's room. It was, what?, seven in the morning? He hadn't slept. His eyes have been wide open for the past few hours just staring up at the ceiling as he laid on his bed. After his interaction with Bloodhound he _ran the fuck away._

He didn't know why he did it but the second that Bloodhound was out of sight Elliot speed walked back to his room, grabbed a couple things, and made his way right back to his bar. The one thing running through his mind freaked him out. He thought the same thing when he first met Loba, a super powerful and super attractive woman. The same thing he thought when he saw a gang of heavily tatted biker-looking dudes waltz into his bar and order a drink with a smile that could kill.

" _Stop!_ " Elliot hissed to himself, his hands going up to cover his face. "Stop thinking! For like, five minutes!" 

Silence was all that filled the room now. As Elliot desperately tried to combat every single thought that even attempted to pop into his mind, the sun rose higher into the sky. Soon enough he got a call from Pathfinder. Elliot made the decision to decline the call. Yeah, today was the day he was supposed to start training and yeah he kind of ran away but you know what? It was a day off now. He's been through enough and now Elliot needed a break. 

His phone rang again, this time it was Wraith. Great. Thanks Path for getting her involved. Now this was going to be a much bigger thing than it was.

"C'mon Witt." Elliot sighed and sat up, grabbing his phone and accepting her call. "Gooooood morning. I see you too like to start your day by hearing my angelic voice."

"Haha. Where are you?" Now here's the hard part, lying. He'd have to come up with something believable, something not too crazy but just enough that it sounds like something he'd do.

"I- well, would you believe it? Last night when I was workin' on my holo-disks I-I just blew myself up. N-Not literally, not like Octavio. But I needed a downed dummy and I didn't want to waste time, you know, shooting it so I dropped a frag. And I stood too close and I kinda hurt my leg. A-And I didn't want to freak anyone out so I came back to the, uh, bar..." 

"What?"

"Yep. You know me, haha." Come on Elliot, make it sound realer. "I guess I got distracted with my holograms naturally good looks and didn't get far enough. I downed a bunch of painkillers so I wouldn't feel much a-and for extra protection I've been icing it. Too numb to feel anything!"

"Elliot that is the stupidest thing you've ever done. Why didn't you just call one of the medics? They're not running around the building 24/7 for nothing." 

"Come on. When they heard the guy that blew his own legs off for fun was gonna be joining the games they almost banned us from using any kind of grenade." Wraith sighed.

"I'm sending Ajay to you. If I went there myself I would end up killing you."

"No no no no no that isn't necessary-!" Wraith had already hung up. "Great, great. Just wanted to- she didn't even let me-!" He flopped back down onto his bed and groaned. Just groaned like a child annoyed that their parent's reminded them of the chore's they'd been neglecting. 

"Maybe Ajay won't even come." He closed his eyes and sighed again. "Maybe she'll be too pissed off to deal with me."

-

"Mirage open up yuh door 'fore I break it down mah damn self!" Loud and aggressive pounding startled Elliot awake. For a second his mind screamed _'Jump out the window you're getting robbed!'_ then he remembered:

Wraith sent Ajay.

Honestly Elliot didn't even realize he fell asleep. Maybe staying up half the night working and the other half red-faced and staring at ceiling was a bad idea. 

"I know I heard ya in there! I will break this damn door down!"

"Can I do it Che? I could get a running start and see if I can bust it down with my head!" Oh, great. She brought Octavio. 

"Don't break down my door! I'm coming." How did they even get into his bar? No one had the keys to the place right now except Pathfinder and him.

Ah. Okay. Stupid question.

Elliot unlocked and opened up the door, not even a second later was Ajay stomping in with D.O.C close behind. She was angrily scolding him but Elliot wasn't paying attention. Partially because he was trying to think of a way out of this situation and partially because he realized that if he didn't get out of this he would have to run faster than Octane to escape Ajay when she decides to kill him. And maybe he was also still a bit tired.

"-swear half of you are idiots! Now get over here so I can fix up yuh damn leg!" Shit. Elliot ran out of time. All eyes were on him now.

"Okay so listen, don't get mad but I am in- I kinda-" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe I lied and I'm perfectly fine." Octavio groaned.

"Come ON! I was looking forward to seeing your gnarly wound. And if it was bad enough I called dibs on cutting that bad boy off!" Ajay lightly smacked his chest before crossing her arms and staring daggers at Elliot.

"Now why in the hell would ya lie about gettin' yuhself blown up like that? Got me and SIlva rushing out here for nothing."

"You know, long story short let's just say I-I..."

Think Elliot. Think, think, THINK.

Or, just stand there silently while two of your friends watch you.

"Oye, I think he broke. I think you broke him _hermana_." Elliot's eyes darted between Ajay and Octavio. "Hellllooooo? Earth to Mirage?" Octavio cocked his head.

"You know just cause you ain't moving doesn't mean you ain't there." Okay, that was a stupid idea.

"I'm just, porces-processing. And...thinking on...stuff." Elliot shuffled his feet uncomfortably. This was going to completely ruin his day off.

-

"How did it go?" Bloodhound was sitting silently in their room, wall up so Artur could fly about freely. They were cleaning their handaxe when Wraith had walked in and sat down on the couch. The two spoke briefly before she turned her attention to a book. Now, not even an hour later, Octavio and Ajay were walking in. The common area was lively today.

"He's an idiot." Bloodhound could hear Ajay flopping down on the couch. Out of the corner of their eye they saw her taking her hair out of the two buns she always sports. "He is an actual idiot."

"Personally, I think he is hilarious. I mean, come on Che!" Octane started laughing and now Bloodhound's interest is piqued. They weren't much for rumors or gossip but every now and then something interesting floated around and they couldn't help themselves. "Sure I wanted to see whatever gross looking gash he made and sure I was really looking forward to maybe upgrading him-!" Ajay elbowed Octane harshly.

"The man is an idiot. Plain an' simple. I go rushin' over there ready to fix him up and he tells me he's perfectly fine." 

" _Pero oye esto_ , the real kicker is he just ran away!" Octane laughs again and this time dodges Ajay's elbow. "Mirage was too embarrassed to tell us anything so all we got outta him was that he was testing some decoy thing last night and then he ran back to the bar."

"What?" Wraith was incredulous but Bloodhound was _really_ interested now. "That's it?" Wraith sighed and rolled her eyes. 

"Yep. That was all our _compadre_ could spit out. But I'll tell you this, he was red in the face the whole time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phrases octane uses this chapter!:  
> \- compadre: friend/buddy/etc  
> \- hermana: sister  
> \- Pero oye esto: but listen to this
> 
> phrases bloodhound uses this chapter!:  
> \- félagi: companion


	5. A Very Long and Very Tiring Dinner

**Message sent from: APEX GAMES COORDINATORS**  
**Sent to: BANGALORE, BLOODHOUND, CAUSTIC, CRYPTO, GIBRALTAR, LIFELINE, LOBA, MIRAGE, OCTANE, PATHFINDER, REVENANT, WATTSON, WRAITH**  
**Subject matter: Upcoming Formal Event & Status Updates**

**Hello again Legends! It has been a few weeks since our last email and per agreement, this is to inform you all that our newest Predator will be starting her training! In order to give the public knowledge of our newest legend we will be holding a formal dinner event which will be televised throughout the Outlands. While this is a public event and many of the high ups will be present we will also invite a select few citizens to join and mingle with everyone to get some engagement and add a positive reputation to our names. As always you are all allowed to have a plus one as long as they 1) complete a form with proof that they are who they say they are and submit it to us and 2) agree to a search before the event, possibly during, and after and 3) come dressed in the appropriate formal attire. This is to ensure the safety of yourselves and everyone in attendance. You are allowed to bring in one small weapon for added protection but do be advised that, as always, we will have high security.**

**As stated multiple times throughout this message this is a** ** FORMAL  ** **event and all should be dressed as such. There are a few exceptions which will be listed in the attached document. If you have any questions on anything you would like to wear that isn't formal and isn't an exception do not hesitate to contact us whether it be in person or in response to this email.**

**The date for our dinner event will be six days from when this email is sent, which is the night before Loba's Qualifiers Game.**

**Thank you all in advance and we will be seeing you in a little less than a week.**

**-**

"Mirage for the last time I don't care which color tuxedo you wear." Cyrpto didn't even bother to look in Mirage's direction as he held up a yellow, black, sparkly yellow, and sparkly red tuxedos. "You and I both know you could go in wearing nothing but a loin cloth and everyone will approve."

"Okay yeah, they'll approve because I look good in everything I wear but this isn't about them. It's about the _mood_."

"You are getting on my last nerves." Mirage rolled his eyes. "I don't care about whatever mood you are talking about, go ask someone else before I change the hologram of yourself in your room to something else."

"Wh-What would you even change it to?" Mirage laughed lightly. Please don't be Revenant.

"That would be a surprise." Oh god it would be Revenant wouldn't it?

"Come on kid, just pick a suit and I'll be on my merry way so you can dig out some sad and musty button up." Crypto sighed and turned his chair around. He looked at the suits for a second before pointing at the black one and turning back around. "Really? You chose that one? You know I knew you'd--"

"Out."

"Fine, fine." Mirage rolled his eyes and, as promised, left Crypto alone. He wasn't going to wear the black one. Like hell he'd wear something so bland.

Elliot walked back to to his room, his walls were away and his room was open for all. He looked at the black suit once and tossed it into an unknown corner before staring the other three down. It was all about the mood.

Smiling softly to himself, Elliot pulled a photograph out of his pocket. It was an old one, kept close to him at all times. He had it clenched in his fist during his first Apex Game, worried he'd get blood on it, worried it would get ruined by a grenade or a bullet. When he was scared he would die in the game, scared he wouldn't make a big enough impression to grant him the status of Legend, he held it close to his heart. If he died he would die with his mother and brothers close to him.

Looking over all their faces, Elliot's eyes landed on his oldest brother's. His advice echoing in his mind at all times. Especially tonight.

_'It's all about the mood. The mood you want your outfit to show off, the mood you wanna give off. I guess a better word would be vibe or impression but I think mood is better. Come on Elliot, you show up to, I don't know, picture day wearing a black button up and a black tie with your hair parted down the middle what's everyone gonna think? That kid is either A) super formal or B) going to a funeral after. But if you have a tie dye shirt and some sunglasses? Everyone in your grade will think you're the coolest kid in-- Hey what grade are you in again?'_

Standing out, getting attention, setting a mood, shaping a personality to make himself known. All skills he mastered early on and used to create Mirage, the charming and sexy Legend that the Outlands loves. Elliot's second identity. Elliot's way to have at least one constant reminder that he is being seen, people know he's there. Even if they don't know him personally they pay attention to him and they care. He couldn't let them down. Not in the games, not at the bar, and not by choosing the wrong color tux.

"Hey bruddah!" Elliot jumped and quickly shoved the picture back into his pocket before turning around to see Ajay and Gibraltar standing just outside his room. "Me and Ajay are lookin' for our little friend. Ran off when he realized he had to wear a suit. At least the top half that is." Gibraltar laughed.

"Octavio ain't too keen on gettin' dressed up in clothes he think's will slow 'im down." Ajay scanned Elliot's room carefully, making sure she didn't accidentally miss the little daredevil. "You haven't seen him around have yuh?"

"Unfortunately no. But! But fortunately for you both I need help with a little predicament." Elliot motioned to his suits. "I don't know which one to pick and as surprising as it seems I do, in fact, need a bit of help. Shocker I know, usually I have these sort of things in the box- bag- but I am stumped."

"We ain't got time for this." Ajay rolled her eyes but Gibraltar pursed his lips and thought for a second.

"Ya know, I know you like big and bold. One of the cute glittery ones." Elliot grinned. "Both the colors look nice to me but hey, I hope I helped."

"No no you did! Thank you." Elliot winked and finger-gunned in Gibraltar's direction. "You, my friend, are getting a night of free drinks the next time you stop by the bar." The bigger man laughed, calling back as he and Ajay walked away to resume looking for Octane.

"It'll be the dinner you owe me for saving your life so many times, bruddah!"

-

"People! People, please," Elliot bowed to a crowd of loud fans and photographers, "Remain calm, I promise you'll each get your time with the sexiest legend!" Elliot winked before turning and holding his hand out for Wraith to grab. He both loved and hated these events. Loved because he knew his mom was always watching. She was likely sitting down with Cynthia right now watching her little gentleman wait for the lady to step out the car. His yellow suit sparkling with the flash of the cameras. Maybe she recognized him, maybe she was blinking profusely trying not to cry because she's so damn proud of her baby boy.

On the other hand Elliot did get tired really easily. The events were fun, the food is great, he loved interacting with fans, but he hated sitting there for a couple hours just listening to people talk about the games. On top of that, sometimes the party planners would sit Elliot away from his friends and pop him on a table full of fans who were close to the higher ups. His sole job was to be the charmer he was to all these strangers who held more power over him than Elliot could imagine. It was exhausting.

Once out of the car, Wraith forced a smile and intertwined her arm with Elliot's. The two began walking down a long, _long,_ carpet to their dining hall. They were the last two to arrive. Mirage said it was to save the "best for last" for the fans. Wraith knew it was because he spent so much time on his outfit he started late on his hair.

"I know I say this every time," Wraith whispered, "but I don't like these exposure events." Elliot waved as they walked slowly, smiling and winking at everyone.

"I'm gonna assume it's because you don't like the one dress you have. You wear it all the time and I'm not one to normally judge but that looks like you stole a bunch of curtains and stitched them together." Wraith rolled her eyes.

"The dress is fine, I don't have to wear it all the time and I don't like the idea of random people the game commissioner hired to whip me up a new dress or suit. The amount of people watching and waiting, the idea that I can get a warning but not know exactly where it's coming from isn't."

"Oh come on," They stopped to smile and pose for a photographer before continuing their walk, "It isn't that bad. I-It's like being seen is the safest way to go. If you're being watched and noticed is probably the safest."

"That's funny coming from the guy who ran away to his bar because something spooked him." Elliot could feel his cheeks flush but he kept his big smile plastered on, couldn't let the people know after all.

"Okay, but that was a completely different stitu-situat- situation. Which, might I add, you agreed not to bring up anymore. Ever."

"And I will, after I remind you of it the next time you brag about saving me in the ring." They stopped just in front of the doors and Wraith let go of Elliot's arm. "Are you on entertainment duty tonight?"

"Yes." Sighing out and running a hand through his hair, Elliot could already feel how exhausted he'd be later. "No point in waiting for me here. I can _hear_ Pathfinder waving you down. I'll see you afterwards."

"Good luck."

-

" _Voy a moriiiiirrrr!_ " Octane groaned out, slumping back in his chair and throwing his head back. He had managed to get away with wearing his mask, formal shorts, a suit jacket, and what looked like a white dress shirt that had been cut so his midriff was revealed. Honestly it surprised Bloodhound that anyone had managed to catch Octane and hold him down long enough to convince him to get dressed.

"No yuh ain't. Now shut up and eat yuh food." Lifeline didn't even look up from her plate as she had another forkful of whatever meat the Syndicate decided to serve. "Least you ain't Makoa, over there with that nasty robot, havin' to deal with him and Anita going toe-to-toe all night. Poor boy's gotta keep them in line and he's determined to make sure Crypto has a good time tonight." Octane sighed and sat up straight, pulling his mask up slightly to quickly shovel food into his mouth and bring his mask back down.

"While it is sad that he has to deal with such a shameful machine, at the very least our _félagi_ fighter was brave enough to take the task upon himself to keep the peace." Lifeline hummed in agreement, D.O.C. following suit and nodding its little head. Underneath their mask, Bloodhound smiled softly. He disliked a lot of machinery, a lot of newer technology. It was untrustworthy, not natural. Not made in the eyes of the Allfather. If an animal has ill intent it is simply nature's way, however one could befriend it, over power it, gain its trust. If a machine has ill intent it was created for that reason and that reason only. Nothing could stop it, reason with it, change its metaphorical mind. However, Bloodhound had to admit that the healing drone that has helped them in many battles was pretty cute.

" _Creo que_ Mirage has it worse. Look at the poor guy." Octane motioned to a table closer to the stage where Mirage sat surrounded by men and women. All eyes were on him as he spoke and smiled warmly. Elbows on the table, chins being held up in hands, eyes half lidded and dazed smiles plastered on these people's faces. Mirage said something and the group laughed. A woman to his left scooted closer to him and Bloodhound could see the tiniest bit of discomfort appear and disappear from Mirage's face. A man reached over and placed his hand on top of the trickster's and held it there for a long moment before Mirage moved his hand away, disguising the movement as a wild gesture as he spoke.

"You kidding? That boy's gettin' his ego fed good tonight. He's rubbin' elbows with the Syndicate's highest just cause he's got a pretty face. One of these days he might end up quittin' just cause he'll marry a higher up. End up bein' a trophy husband to some stuck up fan."

"I don't know _hermana_ , haven't you heard?" Bloodhound tore their gaze away from Mirage to focus on Octane's words. "I decided to take laps around the building, wanted to see if those security guards could catch me while running through those prohibited parts. They can't by the way." Lifeline rolled her eyes. "And I heard that someone found out about our _compadre's_ rejection when he asked the new chick out. Now they're thinking about using the two of them to boost the game's image! The Outlands sexiest and deadliest couple!" Octane laughed, slapping his robotic leg and immediately regretting it.

"That's gotta be the dumbest thing they could do for themselves. Dumber than givin' us all costumes to wear in the ring around holidays."

" _Es lo que pensaba!_ Thankfully I stayed still long enough to hear the poor sap who suggested it get yelled at. Imagine! If they tried to push _esa chica con_ Mirage? All hell would break loose! Fans would riot! More competitors would join the games just to try and kidnap the perfect man."

"Perfect man is an honorable description of Mirage." Bloodhound mumbled quietly. Although the other two couldn't see, Bloodhound closed their eyes and spoke. "Under the eyes of the Allfather and the eyes of nature's very own spirit, he has mastered the way of adapting to his surroundings. It is quiet impressive to see him fight in the ring. He is, by my definition, a perfect example of a man in tune with the world around him." Lifeline laughed loudly and set her fork down.

"Really? Perfect man? Don't tell me he winked at you and now you're fawning over him."

"He is a very competent and reliable ally-"

"Yeah yeah I know that but Mirage is far from perfect. Even in nature's eyes. He talks himself up but he can't even form a sentence without stuttering or go five minutes without givin' himself a compliment." Lifeline glanced over to Mirage's table. Both arms around two very attractive people, most would say he is living the bachelor's dream. "Maybe I'm only scratchin' the surface but the games to him are a way of scoring a new nightly companion and the glory he always dreamed of."

"Perhaps." Now Bloodhound turned their gaze to the table. Although they saw the same thing as Lifeline, it didn't quite feel the way she described it. "Or perhaps it was a different reason. But that is none of my concern. A warrior's intention for entering battle is his and his alone. Whether he has a change of heart is to be kept with him until he decides to share with those alongside him."

-

"Ladies and Gents you are all far too kind." Elliot flashed a dazzling smile. "Honestly I could not have had better company tonight! You were all just so...wow! Who knew I could find people who loved me more than me?" The group laughed and Elliot opened the car door, one foot already in. "Thank you all for being such attractive company." He winked and finger gunned. "I hope to see you all very soon, and make sure to keep a look out for me in the ring!" Finally, _finally_ , he was free. He sat down and sighed, closing his eyes. God he was grateful for just a second of silence.

"Quite a performance tonight. I'm impressed with the amount of _ríkr_ you put into yourself, _félagi_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words/phrases bloodhound uses this chapter!:  
> félagi: companion  
> ríkr: powerful
> 
> words/phrases Octane uses this chapter!:  
> Voy a morir: i'm gonna die  
> Creo que: I think  
> hermana: sister  
> compadre's: buddy's/friend's/etc  
> Es lo que pensaba: thats what I thought  
> esa chica: that chick
> 
> **ALSO! I know people often say that mixing spanish into english sentences is a stereotype or not accurate but I would just like to say that I am hispanic and this is how I talk, I'm using my own way of talking and taking note of octane's voice lines in game.**


	6. Not A Date

If Elliot was physically able to jump he would be at least five feet in the air right this second. He just wanted three seconds to himself before Wraith poked fun at him for being fawned over. At least that was before he got into the car and realized that Wraith had turned into Bloodhound. Well not turned into, more like replaced with but you get the idea.

"Wh-What, uh," Elliot cleared his throat and tried to quickly regain his composure, "What're you doing here? I-I mean I'm not trying to be rude I'm just- I thought that Wraith was riding with me." Come on Elliot, just calm down. So what if you've been actively avoiding Bloodhound because you had a small and sudden burst of feelings. That happens with everyone. You got over it. It's done. You only see them as an occasional squadmate now.

"Ah, she left early with a few of her companions. I was to return with those I arrived with but was held back because someone told me to at least acknowledge my fans. Now I'm here. I hope the sudden change isn't inconvenient." Mirage shook his head quickly.

"N-No it's fine. I was just...surprised." He gulped and pulled his suit jacket off. Once settled in, their chauffeur began the drive back to the facilities.

God, this was awkward. Probably just for him. Bloodhound likely didn't have a clue what was going on. Maybe they just thought they were tired from the event and that's why he was so surprised to see them and why his leg was shaking so much. Mirage would kill to be teased by Wraith right now instead of suffering in one-sided awkwardness. 

"I noticed you had a pleasant evening. Surrounded by many _adoring_ fans." Bloodhound smirked underneath their mask and looked at Mirage through the corner of their eye. They knew he couldn't see their face which made this small teasing a bit more amusing.

"Yeah." Mirage's cheeks turned red. Come on, snap out of it. Just push these feelings of awkwardness down, deep down. Be _Mirage_. Be confident. He cleared his throat and pulled out a handful of paper scraps out of his suit pocket. "Heh, basically everyone at the table slipped their number into my pocket. Honestly I probably have enough poent- potant- fuck..."

"Potential."

"Right. Thanks. Enough potential dates to find someone out there that'll be enough to tame yours truly. Maybe I'll give my mom the grandkids she's been asking for since like, ever. You know at first I thought that the whole having kids thing was not for me. I like a bachelor lifestyle. No strings attached- fast paced. Spontaneous life you know? I mean it fits me, bar owner and _sexiest_ man in the Outlands but lately I've been thinking more and- really I guess I see how Wattson and Caustic are and it's a really nice relationship. I didn't ever have that with my dad because he wasn't exactly present. Not that he sucked he just kinda of died young. And it was hard having that with my mom because I'm the youngest and I just feel like maybe I could have that same relationship with my own kid but at the same time I don't want to give up my lone wolf lifestyle and I guess I've just been feeling like this more because I'm spending way too much time with Wattson and Caustic which I should really cut back on because I can tell that Caustic has been getting more annoyed with me lately and I--"

Ah, fuck. Elliot was rambling. Talking right out of his ass again. With Wraith and Pathfinder it was fine, they were used to it. As much as he didn't like it they knew too much about him. He couldn't help it, Elliot was too comfortable with them. Now Bloodhound? Mystery wrapped Bloodhound. How embarrassing.

"A-Anyway." Mirage laughed nervously. "Where's your little buddy? Arthur? Didn't see him tonight. I bet he would've been a total chick magnet for you tonight. Or guy magnet. I don't judge cause I'm, uh, you know. Yeah. Where is he?" Bloodhound chuckled softly. They weren't going to say it out loud but Mirage did vaguely remind them of when they were younger. Just a bit.

"I don't believe Artur would appreciate the many lights and people in his face. It was best to let him rest for the night in the comfort of my room. But, I can confirm he does tend to draw in more attention. In my younger years at my village I did _taka_ advantage of the fact that I such a _félagi_ forever present with me. And- I will confess- I shared moments alone with other warriors in the nearby woods. But none of those bonds really lasted. I was often told it was because my sense of humor was... _vándr._ Bad, that is."

Elliot grinned.

"Wow, who knew that the famed and mysterious hunter was such a castan- cassan- lady killer. Person killer? Yeah." That sounded stupid, way to go Elliot.

The car came to a slow stop. Elliot peeked out the window and saw the Apex facilities looming over him. He sighed and pushed the door open. Out of habit he held his hand out to help Bloodhound step out of the car. Hey, Elliot was a gentleman no matter who he was with. Bloodhound happily accepted the hand and pulled themselves out.

"I guess I'll see you around. Or not? Our schec- shed- plans don't seem to ever really line up..." Bloodhound cocked their head to the side.

"Are we not going the same way? I can still walk with you if you wish. Unless you were planning on returning to your bar."

"No no! I just thought...well I don't know what I thought actually. But, yes. I am going back. To the building not the bar that is. The point is yeah let's walk in together. God that was more complicated than it should've been." Bloodhound chuckled again and the two began walking in silence.

Now, Bloodhound wasn't one to really understand or process basic emotions in others. That isn't an insult to them but they can be a little bit dense. Just a little. Everyone who has seen Mirage or interacted with him since the night of the 'incident' could automatically tell that something was bothering him, made him embarrassed. Anyone with half a brain cell who knew that Bloodhound was there with Mirage on that night could probably guess that maybe they did something that embarrassed Mirage or made him feel some sort of way. Unfortunately that thought or realization never crossed Bloodhound's mind. If it did then they would've done the polite thing of not bringing this up.

"Might I ask you something?" Mirage nodded as he scanned his legend ID to let them into the building. "The other day I heard some of our fellow fighters talking about you. They said that the night when I discovered you testing your new equipment something happened that convinced you to seek solitude in your bar. What happened?"

Elliot's ears went red. They couldn't be serious right?

"Was it Revenant? I have discovered him many a time at night during my self training. He seems to enjoy creeping around on the ceilings and walls."

Oh god. They were serious. Bloodhound was an idiot. Elliot at that very second realized that in this particular moment, with this particular subject, Bloodhound was a big idiot. Now Elliot has been called an idiot, a dummy, stupid, and an airhead _plenty_ of times so he felt like an expert at identifying an idiot when he saw one. And Bloodhound was an idiot.

Mirage stopped walking, absolutely dumbfounded, and looked Bloodhound up and down. Bloodhound cocked their head to the side.

"Is something wrong?" Elliot shook his head slowly, blinking a couple times before continuing to walk. This was...well Elliot didn't know how to describe it but it was big. A surprise? A shocker? Unusual? A bunch of other synonyms that he couldn't pull off the top of his head at this second?

"N-No. Nothing's wrong." He laughed awkwardly. What does he do now? Say _'No no the reason why I ran away was because in that second when you spoke to me with a weirdly nice whispery voice and a smirk that made my stomach feel funny I had a sudden jolt of feelings for you but don't worry! I got over it because it was like a little crush a kid has on another kid when the second kid gives the first kid a cookie or candy or something kids like. A playground crush! That's the term. Right?'_. He can't say that. That's dumb and embarrassing and Elliot enjoyed his blossoming friendship with Bloodhound. It was great. Bloodhound was great.

"You know, I'm gonna be honest with you Hound, since you're my friend and all." Elliot pulled out his fake-confidence for the sake of this lie. God he hoped Bloodhound would fall for it. He lowered his voice to a whisper before speaking, "I wanted to see how many dummies I could turn invisible and what the-the, what's the word? Range! What the range was, so I, heh, I hooked a bunch of holo-disks up to a bunch of dummies and I may or may or may not have of accidentally set them off of their peaceful un-moving mode and I had a bunch of invisible dummies running around trying to shoot each other. Of course this caused a bit of a panic and you know who they send down to help me? The hottest babe I've seen work here! Honestly! I've never seen her here before so she probably works higher up and runs some of the behind-the-scenes things. Anyway, I did not want to ruin my first impression with her so I, admittedly, ran away. Invisible, that is." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, silently hoping that Bloodhound took the lie.

"That...definitely sounds like something you would do." They shook their head. They took the lie.

"Well as embarrassing as that was I now have a funny and charming story to tell her when I ask her out. She'll fall head over heels for me in an instant." Mirage winked and lightly elbowed Bloodhound. "Anyway," The two stopped in the common room. All the walls were down and doors were closed. The other legends were likely dead tired and asleep. "This is my stop. Actually this isn't my stop, m-more like a pit stop. I'm gonna grab some stuff then head back to the bar for tonight and probably come back tomorrow night for training before we all- why am I explaining this to you? You know why I'm coming back."

"Well if this is where we part ways then I wish you a goodnight. Góð luck on your date tomorrow."

"Tha- wait...date?" Elliot blinked and combed through every memory he had of the past four-ish hours.

"I am assuming that is why you are to return to your bar. You did have a lot of men and women fawning over you tonight. Forgive me if I stepped out of line."

"N-No, you're fine." Elliot laughed awkwardly. "I just, I didn't remb- remeb- remember that I told you that I had a, uh, date."

"I am a very observant person." Right. Of course Bloodhound was.

Elliot had a date.

-

Flowers in one hand and his bag in the other, Elliot Witt stood anxiously in front of a door. He didn't want to knock or ring or let the people inside know he was there. Not yet. A moments peace was required to gather his thoughts, his feelings. He gulped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this. No need to be nervous. He's Mirage for god sakes, most confident man in the Outlands!

...Who was he kidding? Right now he was Elliot Witt, a nervous wreck.

Ringing the door bell, Elliot held the flowers closer to his chest and silently hoped today would be one of those days where everything was fine.

Cynthia opened the door in milliseconds, a big smile on her face. She hugged Elliot hello and stepped aside to let him into his mother's home.

"Oh Evelyn has been doing so well lately." Cynthia closed the door and began leading Elliot through the house. "I think those doctors you're sending in are helping. I didn't have to remind her who you were or that you were visiting today!" Elliot smiled. At least those winnings from the games were worth _something_. "Earlier this week she got up and walked around the house, she knew it like the back of her hand!"

"Thanks Cyn. Really, it means a lot." They stopped and Elliot looked at the closed door in front of them. "Really, I don't know how to repay you. I-I mean besides with real...money you know. I am hiring you for a service to astic-assit- help my mom. But I can get you a piece of, I don't know, legend memorabilia? Of course it'd be more like I probably try to take something from one of the others like Path's grapple but I wouldn't have to take it I could just ask him. Or I can get you a picture of Crypto when he wakes up in the morning. He doesn't look weird or funny in any way- besides his normal weird look with those dumb things on his chin- I guess it'd just be more of an embarrassing thing? Or maybe-" Cynthia giggled and held her hand up, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it. I enjoy working her, the money is great and I do get the latest news from a legend himself. Plus it's nice hearing such a renowned engineer talk and share her experiences when she does." Elliot smiled. "I'll put these flowers in a vase and put them in Evelyn's room later. For now I'll give you two some privacy and I'll come get you when dinner's ready." He thanked her again and again and again before Cynthia finally took the flowers from his hand and walked off. Now it was just him and the door.

Come on Witt. It's your mom. Don't keep her waiting. Deep breaths.

Opening the door, Elliot was greeted with the sight of his mom sitting on her bed, a few boxes around her. She looked up and smiled so warmly that Elliot swore he stepped into a patch of sunlight. His eyes watered and he immediately went to sink down on his knees and hug her tightly. Suddenly he was a kid again, being held in his mother's loving arms. She stroked his hair slowly and tears started streaming down his cheeks. Closing his eyes tightly Elliot buried his face into her body more. He didn't want to leave, this was great. Greater than great. His mom was here and hugging him and she knew him. She remembered who he was. He didn't care if she only remembered him for this next minute or hour. It felt so good to be hugged and known.

"H-Hey mom." Elliot hiccuped, not showing any signs of letting go.

"Hey kiddo." Her voice was soft and soothing. Not like the voice he heard when he was last on the phone with her. This was the voice of the mom that would cradle Elliot in her arms when he was younger and got messed with by his older brothers. The voice of the mom that reassured him there were no monsters under his bed because he was so strong and brave he scared them all away. Her voice was honey and Elliot was a bee. Or a bear. Whichever liked honey more.

Evelyn pulled herself back a bit and moved her hands to cup Elliot's cheeks, gently guiding his head up to face her. She smiled softly at the sight of her baby boy, eyes red and puffy and tears all over his face. If Elliot wasn't so damn happy right now he'd be embarrassed that he, a man in his thirties, was sobbing like a baby and clinging onto his mom.

"Long time no see huh baby?" Evelyn smiled and wiped away her son's tears with her thumbs. "Let's catch up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words bloodhound used this chapter!:  
> taka: take  
> félagi: companion  
> vándr: bad  
> Góð: good


	7. Dropship

Sometimes people see or hear something and it's like they're instantly transported to a certain point in time, a special memory that stuck around. Something special that, even though was forgotten for a little, still filled them with such a warm fuzzy feeling. Elliot definitely felt that as he sat cross-legged on his mom's bed, talking to her and going through boxes of memories. He felt like a kid, happy and loved in these few hours he had his mom. His mom, the mom he remembered and loved and _missed so damn much_. 

Now, don't think Elliot didn't care for his mom because of her condition. He loved her no matter what but he has to admit he missed being able to talk to her without the dark looming cloud that was having to remind her of every tragedy that has happened to the Witt family and putting her through such pain again and again.

Multiple times while visiting his mom did Elliot remember this wouldn't last forever. Her memory being intact for a few hours, a day even, was temporary. Even if the Syndicate doctors worked their magic to get Elliot this much he knew they couldn't get rid of her dementia completely. But it was fine, everything was fine. In that day and those precious moments everything was fine.

"I wanted to give you something." Evelyn Witt stood up slowly, her son jumping up in an instant to offer her his hand. She smiled and gently pushed it away. "I can stand and walk on my own, thank you very much. Your mother isn't that old." Elliot smiled but stayed standing, watching her walk over to the cabinet, grabbing what she needed, and walked back. Only when he saw her sit back down did he relax and go back to his cross-legged position. "I found- well Cynthia actually but I'll take the credit." She smiled and playfully elbowed her son. "I found this old picture, older than the one you have of us and the boys," She handed her son a photograph with faded colors and a yellow-ish tint it had acquired over the years. God, Elliot could already feel the tears coming back.

Six smiling faces stared up at Elliot, one big happy family. His mom, his dad, his brothers, and him.

"A-Are you postit- posa- sure I can have it?" He looked up at his mom and she nodded. "You do-don't have to-" She placed a hand on her son's cheek, her thumb gently rubbing away the tears that began streaming down.

"I want to. Keep it, keep both of them. You'll have your family with you always, Ellie." Elliot laughed lightly and leaned into his mother's touch.

"I've always hated that nickname." His mom laughed and took the picture from his hands for a moment, turned it over, and handed it back.

"You hated the nickname and your brothers hated that you misspelled astonishing on such a damn good picture." Elliot let out a breathy laugh, the memories of his brothers teasing him made him smile. The warm fuzzy feeling returned.

-

It was a struggle to breathe. Weak lungs poisoned with evil toxins tried their damn best to take in as much air as possible but almost nothing was inhaled. Bloodhound had their eyes shut tightly, face twisting into a painful expression. They opened their mouth and attempted to gulp in air but failed miserably. Nothing to worry about, Bloodhound was determined. They tried again and again but their lungs fought against the body and soon enough it felt like Bloodhound was suffocating.

"Easy now." Lifeline gently pressed the mask against their face. Bloodhound relaxed and inhaled deeply. "Yuh know it would be easier for you if you just let us operate on yah." Lifeline looked down at D.O.C. and nodded her head in another direction. The helpful healing drone nodded its little head and floated out of the room.

"As understandable as that is, I do not wish to make anything easier for myself. As it is, getting this much done feels like cheating. Cheating myself, the Allfather, and my people." Lifeline hummed and motioned for Bloodhound to lay back. They did. "The wound and the pain in my lungs is not a hindrance to my abilities as many may believe. If anything it offers me great strength. Serves as a reminder to myself."

"An' I get that. Everyone's got their thing. But all I'm sayin' is you don't need to have to go through this all the time. You know I can fix yuh up enough to where yuh ain't dying every three seconds cause you can't breathe." D.O.C. floated back in, a plastic box that was sealed tightly resting on top of it. "Look at Alexander, I fixed him up but he still wanted a trophy of his _"studies"_ ," Lifeline rolled her eyes and yanked her face mask up to cover her mouth and nose, "So his lungs are near perfect, just kept a bit of a cough. Still don't know why he wanted it but I made it happen." Lifeline motioned to Bloodhound and turned around, going to close the door as they unzipped and unbuttoned a portion of the top half of their clothing. Lifeline only needed a bit of their chest to work with after all.

"Scars must be worn proudly, no matter how gruesome, traumatic, or painful. My people believe it's the Allfather's way of congratulating us. A gift of sorts. Almost as if the great one is honoring _us_ for facing a challenge and coming out victorious." Bloodhound closed their eyes and took in one last deep breath before sliding their mask off. "I appreciate the help you've given me and I understand your concerns but I would like to keep my condition the way it is now."

"You got it, _bredren_." Lifeline slipped an oxygen mask onto their face, instructing them to count backwards from one hundred. Bloodhound was out before they even got to 96.

As soon as she was certain Bloodhound was out, Ajay began to work. She slid two thin tubes down their nostrils and sat down in front of a computer. Turning it on, the camera showed the insides of the hunter laying down. This was a very simple and standard procedure that Ajay's been doing since Bloodhound joined the games. Fixing up their lungs just enough to not give them too much trouble but leaving them injured enough to satisfy Bloodhound's traditional mindset. She didn't understand but hey, it wasn't for her to argue. All she had to do was guide the tubes to their lungs and pump a soothing healing gas into their lungs then inject the same medicine (now in liquid form) into their chest before placing two deep-cooling pads onto their chest for about ten minutes. This whole process was to make sure any major or life threatening weak spots in their lungs sealed up, the area outside of the lungs weren't irritated, and any infection that could have developed died instantly.

Ajay sighed and stood up once she successfully guided the tubes into Bloodhound's lungs with a remote control device. Quickly stretching, she mumbled, "See ya when ya wake up."

-

The ability to breathe was a privilege. It isn't something everyone deserves, only those who have proven their worth in one way or another. At least, that's what Bloodhound has always told themselves.

They were knelt down quietly in front of a small shrine. A single candle, their hand axe, a sharp tooth of an animal long since dead. Artur stood silently in his cage, eyes trained on his master as they paid respects to their fallen uncle.

Today was the day the practice games would start. At this very moment the drop ship was detaching itself from the Apex facilities and was flying a short ways to King's Canyon. Although this fight was not meant to be an honest battle, Bloodhound treated it as such. They silently asked the wisdom and guidance of their uncle to pave the path to victory. Asked the Allfather to allow Bloodhound the power to overtake their foes and prove their worth. And asked themselves if they're truly worthy to breathe another day.

Opening their eyes, Bloodhound thought about their uncle. The vigorous training and the age-old traditions passed down from generation to generation. They smiled slightly at the thought of Artur disapproving of the games but far too interested to be fully upset. Maybe he would say something about flaunting power or bragging about worth. It was unsightly to do such things, it would almost seem as if you're taunting the Allfather and saying that in some small way you are better. Nonetheless, Bloodhound was sure their uncle would abandon his disdain for technology for a short while as he watched Bloodhound fight bravely.

The dropship's engines roared to life and in an instant Bloodhound could feel it lifting off the ground. As they stood up and put out the candle's flame the outer walls of their room began automatically rolling up. Soon enough everyone's personal quarters were visible and the legends began piling into the center area, sitting on the couch and speaking to one another.

"Today is another fight." Bloodhound spoke to Artur as they placed him safely in his cage, just for the flight. "And we will once again prove ourselves worthy to breathe another breath, _félagi_."

"How yuh doin'?" Lifeline placed a hand on their shoulder. She was ready and fully kitted for the day. D.O.C. floated lazily behind her.

"I can breathe normally as of right now. No pain. However I do feel discomfort in my nostrils and going down."

"It'll fade, always does." She leaned against the wall. "Woulda preferred doin' it a week ago but with everything going on 'round here I didn't have time. Not like that'll ruin yuh fights." She sighed in annoyance, crossing her arms. "Still don't get why we have to go through all of this for her." In unison, the two glanced over in Loba's direction. She was sitting apart from the others, eyes scanning the group but occasionally glancing in Revenant's direction. "But I ain't dumb enough to go on questionin' the higher ups. At least this gives us all somethin' to do 'fore the next season. Swear Silva's been driving me crazy draggin' me places so he can nearly kill himself and I patch him up." Bloodhound hummed. "You find yuhself a partner yet?" 

" _Nei_. I never plan ahead for a battle. It's unnecessary when the path for today has been written. Instead I will allow the Allfather's wisdom guide me to my teammate." Lifeline scoffed.

"That's a hell of a way to say you completely forgot we had to pick our own partners." Bloodhound smiled underneath their mask. Ajay knew them all too well. "I'm gonna go make sure Silva's legs aren't broken and that D.O.C is up to date. If you have any trouble breathin' in the ring come find me." She walked away, her healing companion following besides her.

Bloodhound sighed. Grabbing their hand axe and polish. Some last minute cleaning would hopefully focus their mind and hopefully give Bloodhound an idea for a partner.

The dropship shook and Artur cawed in agitation. The hunter scooted closer to their avian companion, offering a piece of meat to him in an effort to calm him down. Once Artur was satisfied Bloodhound picked their weapon up again and held it up to examine its cleanliness. It was clean all right, it shone in the light and had a faint reflection. Bloodhound tilted their head and looked closely.

It was Mirage.

They turned around and sure enough there the trickster was, chatting with Wraith and Pathfinder. Bloodhound leaned back and spoke softly to Artur, "I will assume this is the guidance I said the Allfather would give me." Artur cawed. Bloodhound stared silently in their direction, contemplating the idea of asking Mirage to join them for the next few battles. Perhaps he already had a partner chosen? It would be useless to ask if he did, then he would be back to square one.

Artur cawed again. Sometimes it felt like the raven could read their thoughts. 

"I know not to go against the Allfather's will. But what I said earlier...that was me coming up with an excuse for my negligence. Surely this is a mere coincidence." Artur cawed again and shook, a couple feathers falling off.

In a split second Wraith turned her head and was staring directly back at Bloodhound. They silently cursed themselves for not remembering that she would probably get a warning that she was being watched, then cursed themselves again for being so forgetful today. 

Bloodhound sighed and slid the hand axe onto its holster before walking over. 

Mirage hadn't stopped talking to his friends this whole time. Not when the stupid drop ship stuttered in its flight and almost knocked him over and not when he saw that Wraith was staring at something in the distance. Whatever, no big deal. She did stuff like this all the time. If they were in danger she would say something so Elliot assumed everything was fine. Totally fine. Of course that was until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder that made him jump half a foot in the air, causing everyone to turn his way.

Elliot smiled awkwardly. "Don't worry about me folks, just acting out one of my heroic stories. Go back to yourselves." The other legends went back to their previous conversations, some comments floating in the air (particularly one from Caustic about how Mirage was acting like an idiot). Elliot turned and was practically face to face with Bloodhound. He smiled awkwardly and took a small step back.

"Pardon me for interrupting. I was wondering if I could have a word with you." Elliot nodded hesitantly and the two walked over to Bloodhound's room. Elliot looked back at his friends, Wraith shrugged while Pathfinder tilted his head, concern on his screen.

"What's up kid? Why am I calling you kid, I don't even know how old you are. What's up buddy? Wait a minute how old even are you?" 

"I am ageless." Elliot tilted his head. It took him a second to realize that Bloodhound was joking. He chuckled. For a mysterious and mostly serious competitor, Bloodhound was funny. Okay it was a bad funny, jokes that don't quite hit the mark, but Elliot liked that kind of funny. It was exactly his sense of humor. "I simply wanted to ask if you would like to be my partner for these upcoming battles. It seems my path has lead to you." Artur cawed behind them. It was like he was talking too. 

"Sure." Elliot knelt down and grinned at the raven. "I didn't have a partner yet and to be honest, Path is great and all but I cannot stand hearing his legs creak every time he moves. He didn't have time to give himself a check up or oil or whatever it is he does. Can you believe it? What else does he have to do? He works for me and when he's not he's here doing who knows what."

"It is decided then." Bloodhound held their hand out. Elliot stood up quickly and took Bloodhound's hand in his own, shaking firmly. Hopefully his grip wasn't too weak, imagine how embarrassing that would be.

"Yeah, partners. Squadmates. Dynamic duo! Together you and I will kick all the other legends asses." Bloodhound smiled underneath their mask.

The dropship stuttered and slowed down. 

"Now arriving at Kings Canyon." The robotic female voice spoke over the loudspeaker and the legends all made their way to the center area. The couches folded in on themselves and slid away to reveal the high lighted areas where the platforms would lower and everyone would jump down to the arena. 

Bloodhound quickly took Artur out of his cage and held him on their forearm, using their other hand to hover above his wings.

"Oh!" Mirage sprinted to his room and ran back, holding a holodisk in his hand. "Almost forgot, this is for my teammate. Which is you." He grinned and gently slid the holodisk onto his partner's arm, making sure it was secure before switching it on. Artur cawed and Elliot glanced at the bird's direction. "Sorry buddy, don't have one small enough for ya. Next time I'll make you one." He winked at the raven and immediately regretted it. Who winks at birds?

The female voice spoke again, informing everyone that the platforms would be lowering. Not even a moment later and they slowly began lowering. The second the platforms stopped and they were given the okay to drop Octane let out a loud battle cry, picked Lifeline and D.O.C up, and jumped out. Lifeline's yells and curses faded the farther the ship got.

Bloodhound mumbled something to Artur before removing their hand and allowing the raven to fly free. They would reunite down in the ring.

"So," Elliot clapped his hands together as he stared down at the arena below them, "Where should I drop u-?" Mirage never finished his sentence. Bloodhound grabbed his hand and jumped, pulling Mirage with them.

"I call jump master." Bloodhound said with a mischievous smile as their jetpacks linked and they flew down into Kings Canyon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words/phrases bloodhound uses this chapter!:  
> felagi: companion  
> Nei: no
> 
> words/phrases that lifeline uses this chapter!:  
> bredren: friend


	8. King's Canyon Part 1

Slum Lakes was Mirage's least favorite place in King's Canyon. It was gross, had trash everywhere, and was kind of confusing. Plus there was a weird smell there that he could never identify. Long story short, Mirage hated that area so of course Bloodhound chose there. How Hound knew he hated that place was beyond him. Hell, Bloodhound probably didn't even know that. They probably chose it because it was a ways away from other teams and usually had a good amount of loot there but Mirage's inner voice insisted that Bloodhound did this on purpose so they could watch him stumble his landing and almost fall into disgusting sewer water.

"Okay, first of all, fuck you." Mirage shook his leg to get some gunk off his shoe. "Second of all, I call jump master next time." Bloodhound chuckled.

"As you wish." They double tapped the side of their head, presumably where their ear was, and on came their connected communicators. "We can go our separate ways for the time being. If you need me do not hesitate to call for help. I suggest when we are done looking for needed supplies we meet at the jump tower up ahead." Mirage nodded. He could survive on his own for, what?, ten or fifteen minutes. There's only thirteen people here anyway.

The two parted ways. With every step Mirage took he made sure to watch out for any more disgusting gunk.

"All right Witt. Let's look for a gun." Walking into a building and scanning the area for any sort of weapon he thought about how peculiar it was that Bloodhound wanted to team up with him. Sure, he's a great squad mate. Some would say that Mirage was the _perfect_ squad mate. But the last time they were in a team together Bloodhound got pretty annoyed pretty fast, then again the last time they were in a team together was a good ten games back. Times have changed, Elliot has maybe changed so Bloodhound probably took a leap of faith and prayed to the Allfather that Mirage didn't talk so much or so loud this time.

Elliot double tapped his communicator. 

"Hey Hound? Quick question here." This was stupid. Seriously? You're getting a little self-conscious and so you turn to probably embarrassing yourself? God dammit, Witt. "I'm not trying to question you or anything but I just gotta ask why you asked me to team up with you? Honestly I figured you'd consin- consida- consider Loba or Gibraltar." 

Deafening silence. 

Elliot cursed himself silently, he knew this was stupid. He has to think next time, he can't just go around asking stupid things.

"In all honesty, the Allfather led my path to you. I had forgotten we needed to pick a teammate so I asked the Allfather for help. My path led straight to you, Mirage. Which is--"

"Elliot..."

"Pardon?"

"Elliot." Seriously? You're doing _this_ now? Stop it. Pathfinder and Wraith calling you by your name is different. They're different. "Call me Elliot. It's my name and you're my friend. Call me Elliot." 

_You're getting attached._

"Elliot." He smiled as Bloodhound spoke his name. It was nice. Their voice was was nice. But _everyone's_ voices were nice! Not just Bloodhound's! " _Með megin ok rit_. A fitting name for you, _minn frænda_."

"Uh, Thanks- Thank you. I think."

"It is no coincidence that fate has brought us together. You are clever on the battlefield and a very powerful ally. I will gladly fight alongside you." Elliot smiled slightly, ignoring the slight knot in his chest. It meant nothing. "If that is all I will leave you to continue looking for loot. See you at the jump tower."

The communicator went silently. Elliot let out a shaky sigh.

Picking up a blue backpack and shoving in a couple frag grenades his mind wandered and began formulating different scenarios for the next couple of games. Now that he knew what Bloodhound thought of him, well, the pressure was _on_. Honestly it shouldn't be! Elliot knew that Bloodhound knew how he fought. Bloodhound said so themselves that they think he's a good teammate but his mind _just can't help it_.

One possibility: Mirage and Bloodhound absolutely wipe the floor with the others and win these practice games. Who knows! With Bloodhound's tracking and hunting and whatever else they do and Mirage's ability to fool others in the ring they had a good chance of weeding people out before taking them down.

Another possibility: they don't win but they put up a pretty good fight. Maybe they're in the top three or four and go out with a bang. Nothing special but still good practice.

The worst possibility: they die the second they meet one of the others or they get caught in the ring and feel it burn them to death. Or they meet one of the other squads and die because Mirage completely throws off Bloodhound's groove and basically gets them both killed and now Bloodhound hates Mirage forever because Mirage is a big stupid idiot.

He sighed and picked up an R-99, popping on a barrel stabilizer. He hoped anything but the last option happened.

-

A caw from above and a gentle flap of wings signaled Bloodhound to extend their arm as they sat at the bottom of the jump tower and began to organize their supplies. Artur landed gracefully and rubbed his beak against Bloodhound's arm. They smiled and gently stroked the top of the raven's head.

"Hello to you too, _félagi_. I am glad you were able to track me down. Of course I wouldn't expect less from such a smart _hrafn_." Artur cawed in response and hopped onto the ground. "I'm afraid our partner hasn't finished gathering loot. Perhaps the area he chose to scout wasn't as bountiful as mine. Nonetheless I prepared and picked up a few extra items as well as hid some things for later."

Closing their eyes and sighing quietly Bloodhound eased back into the base of the jump tower. They had to admit this was probably the calmest they've ever felt during a game. Yeah it was a practice game and it was meant to be treated like a real one but knowing that there were so few people in the arena allowed Bloodhound to ease up. Just a bit.

"Round One. Beginning ring count down." The announcers voice broke the soft silence of nature. Bloodhound took out their game-issued tracker (which did more than just track the rings location but were the coordinators going to change the name now after all this time?) and checked the map. The two were a long ways from the next ring but on the bright side they had two hours to make the walk from Slum Lakes all the way to the cage.

"Mirage to Hound. You there kid? Wait- damn. Sorry, force of habit. You there, uhhh...l-let's just keep it at Houndie? Hound? Yeah. Mirage to Hound, you see the map?" Bloodhound let out an amused huff and double tapped their ear piece.

" _Ek'm hí_. We have quite a ways to go and only a couple of hours to make the trip, _félagi._ Have you finished gathering loot?" Elliot let out an awkward chuckle.

"Ahh, heh, y-yeah. Not much here. Mainly a bunch of uh grenades and a couple of hop ups. I managed to get an R-99 and an Eva though. Should I just head over?"

"I believe it'd be wise. Fortunately I have secured you a blue body shield if you're in need." A dull thud echoed through their communicators followed by Mirage groaning in annoyance. "...I also have some syringes if you're already in need."

"Ha ha. I'll be there soon Hound." There was a click then silence.

"In the meantime let us plan our path." Pulling the tracker back out Bloodhound looked over the map. "As of now we have two options. We can cut through The Pit and risk going through The Bunker or we can make our ways towards Containment and head straight to The Cage, looting the surrounding buildings of course." Artur didn't respond for obvious reasons. "Perhaps I should leave the decision to our partner, he may share some personal knowledge of the areas and give us the best possible path."

Bloodhound extended their arm and their avian companion hopped on.

"Go on and fly free, secure our surroundings and interact with nature. I will see you when the Allfather wills it." Artur let out a caw before flying high into the sky. The hunter watched as their raven soared gracefully away and disappeared in the distance."May the Allfather protect you." Closing their eyes, Bloodhound allowed their body to relax. Carefully slipping their mask off and inhaling deeply, they allowed a smile to play on their lips.

Bloodhound exhaled and felt an invisible, calming presence over them. Their body relaxed and mind cleared allowing the very essence of nature ease any tension out of them. The image of their uncle faded into their thoughts and Bloodhound dwelled on their past. The wisdom generously passed down from Artur to Bloodhound echoed throughout their mind.

_"Trust nature. Believe that the earth will guide you, protect you, fight with you. It is man's most powerful ally and no machine nor scrap of metal will overpower the strength that is nature. And, as we know, nature is but a humble servant of the Allfather. Nonetheless we must put all of our faith into the hands of nature, therefore putting faith into the Allfather. Once you have given up any fear in exchange for the knowledge and trust of divine guidance, then you trust yourself and your instincts as your instincts are nothing but droplets of wisdom gifted to you."_

"Trust nature." Bloodhound inhaled deeply. "Then trust yourself." They exhaled, their eyes opening and mind now wandering to their teammate. While it was no secret that Bloodhound wasn't the biggest fan of machinery and advanced technology they understood that the old ways could not be a permanent rule to live their life. It was difficult leaving their village to learn to blend the older traditional ways with the every changing ways of the world and universe around them. Admittedly, Bloodhound had a biased mindset in the beginning. Upon first entering the games and when they met so many modern legends and contestants annoyance bubbled in the pit of their stomach. They saw their fellow legends as less. Obviously their opinion has changed greatly but looking back the hunter realized just how corrupt their first impressions of the legends were and perhaps still are. 

In the beginning Mirage's- _Elliot's_ \- illusionary tactics were nothing but cheap tricks to replace the lack of proper fighting skills. Elliot was insufferable and as was his technological crutch. Bloodhound believed that Elliot was one searching for his fifteen minutes of fame and used his pretty boy charm to _talk and talk and talk_ his way to the top. Times were different now. Bloodhound's old biased views faded away and they learned that while the trickster does have a rather loud voice and tendency to ramble on, their holographic tricks aided his fight and were a justifiable way to hunt and track any enemy that came across his path. Bloodhound felt honored to have formed a friendship, no matter how new, with an intelligent and competent fighter. Truly it would be an honor to witness the clever _félagi_ fighter in combat with his ever changing technology.

But not everything was tied to combat. Bloodhound greatly appreciated being graced with Elliot's _loud_ personality. It calmed them, welcomed them, reminded that Bloodhound that while being a skilled and dominant predator was important forging personal relationships was as well. And while it was difficult for the hunter to ease themselves into having personal relationships something about Elliot felt right.

"Phew, finally made it." Elliot panted out. Hands on his hips and sweat on his brow he became momentarily aware of his old age. Well, old age for him."Getting up these hills never gets easier no matter how many times I do it." He smiled and squatted next to Bloodhound. "Miss me?"

"Welcome back, _félagi_. We have a long path ahead of us." Bloodhound spoke as they handed Elliot a blue body shield. The moment he touched it the blue armor disappeared. A blue light snaked it's way up Mirage's arm and around his body before disappearing again. Mirage never ceased to be amazed by the amazing armor technology they had here.

"I have come up with two routes for us to take." Bloodhound pulled out the map, using their finger to trace their options out for their partner. "We can pass through the Pit and the Bunker before making our way to the Cage or we can make our way through Containment and have a straight shot to our destination."

"Probably better to steer clear of the Bunker." Mirage rubbed his chin. "I mean, Caustic and Wattson are on a team together and knowing Caustic he probably dropped them there to set up as many of his traps as possible. On top of that Wattson's fences would be _everywhere_ and they're a pain to get past. If one of us were Wraith we'd have a better chance of making it through with being electrocuted or corro- corrosioned? corrosed?- gassed to death." Bloodhound nodded, putting their tracker away and standing up. Mirage was just as knowledgeable as they expected.

"Then let us make our way."

The two walked in silence, side by side. Mirage's brain went a million miles a minute thinking of different conversations he could start up with his squad mate. He mentally shot them all down. No conversations. No witty stories, no clever jokes, no entertaining commentary. Nothing. He was determined to stay serious in order to not jeopardize their game or risk having Bloodhound get annoyed and possibly hate Mirage forever.

God, imagine that. Mirage gets the most mysterious person in the Outlands to warm up to him and possibly consider him their friend but he messes it all up because he cannot stand silence and has to talk or else his brain comes up with stupid ideas that the people around him are silent because maybe they just find him too annoying to talk to. Maybe they think Elliot is just way too damn talkative and they're sick and tired of his chatter and are choosing to ignore him.

_'Stop it.'_ Elliot thought to himself, shaking his head. He wasn't Elliot right now. He was Mirage and Mirage didn't think that way. Mirage knew everyone loves him and even if they don't love him they still like him. He was Mirage right now and he was with his friend Bloodhound who definitely does not hate him because hey, it's Mirage! Who can hate Mirage?

He glanced over at Bloodhound, swallowing thickly.

They didn't hate Mirage. At least that's what he'll keep telling himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words/phrases bloodhound uses this chapter!:  
> -Með megin ok rit: strong and right  
> -minn frænda : my friend  
> -félagi: companion  
> \- hrafn: raven  
> -Ek'm hí: i'm here


	9. King's Canyon Part 2

"Round Two. Beginning ring countdown."

Resting in the shade of a boulder, Elliot sighed and lazily pulled his tracker out.

"A whole round and not a single person was taken out so far? I mean, I know there's only thirteen of us in here but I figured that the murderbot would take out a couple people." He checked the location of the next ring, sighing in relief as he dropped the tracker onto his lap and leaned back. "We're already in the next ring. How lucky are we?" He grinned at his partner who sat quietly bedsides him.

Yeesh. Awkward.

Mirage began fiddling with the strap of his backpack completely unsure of what to say. He could probably ask if they were awake but what if they were meditating? Or what if they got possessed by the nature ghost and they were getting some kind of weird nature ghost tracking that showed them everything without moving? Okay so that last one probably isn't possible but Mirage wasn't going to risk anything.

"H-Hey uh, Hound? Since we're already in the next ring maybe we can set up camp somewhere. You know. Pick people off, get the high ground. That sort of thing." Bloodhound hummed softly and shook their head.

"That would be unwise at the moment." Mirage blinked in confusion. Bloodhound turned to face him before explaining. "As we arrived here to rest I noticed that someone has traveled through this area. While they were careful not to disturb the nearby supply bins and closed the doors in our immediate line of sight there was a door left open in the higher levels of the Cage. Apart from that I noticed that the rope to the upper levels has been disturbed. It rocked slowly back and forth and there is no wind here. While I do not know if the enemy is still nearby it would be best to stay put until we can confirm that we are safe."

"I mean I could send off a decoy and see if it gets shot down. Then we'd know if they're here and where they're at!"

" _Nei_. Too much of a risk still. The enemy will likely have the high ground and while I wield a charge rifle, the position in which we're in and the higher bars of the Cage would put us in a disadvantage. More than likely they will _slátra_."

"S-So we just sit here then?" Bloodhound nodded.

"Sometimes remaining idle and waiting is the best thing for a hunter to do." Elliot nodded hesitantly. Great, silence again. God it was _excruciating_. Elliot wanted to talk just to know that at least Bloodhound was distracted.

Distracted from what? What was he worried about? Bloodhound taking this silence as an opportunity to ponder Elliot some more? No, not Elliot. _Mirage_. Bloodhound knew Mirage. Even if they've gotten snippets of Elliot they know Mirage.

Elliot got attached. He knows he did. He shouldn't of told Hound to call him Elliot because that just sealed the deal! Great job Elliot Witt. You did this to yourself and now you're going to regret it. Just you wait and see.

"Elliot." He snapped his head up to look at Bloodhound. The hunter was staring up at the sky, body relaxed, as they spoke again. "We have a moment's peace. I would like to bond with you. That is to say if you'd like we can talk." Talk? Talk! Oh thank fuck.

"Yeah! Yeah let's talk! What'd you wanna talk about?"

"I know I am a very closed off person. I claim mystery as a cloak to shield myself from others in order to focus on my personal agenda. Since I've joined the games I have eased myself out of that mindset and I know the importance of forging meaningful bonds with those whom I share so much of my own time with. I suppose what I'm trying to say is you can ask me whatever it is you'd like and I'll answer as truthfully as possible."

Elliot grinned and clapped his hands together. Anything he wanted about _Bloodhound_? The Bloodhound? Not even the Apex Games Commissioner has much information on them.

"Okay so, you hate technology right?" Bloodhound nodded, stopped, then shook their head.

" _Nei_. It was an opinion I held before I was educated and exposed to the benefits. I understand that with the Outlands ever evolving way of life that certain...things must be made to aid nature's path. That is why I created this." Bloodhound lifted their arm and showed Elliot the tracker they had placed on their wrist.

"Y-You made that?" Elliot scooted closer to get a better look at the device. He had always wondered about it.

" _Já_. i admit it took me a while to make and some help from...outside resources but this was the first step in me fully accepting the bridge between nature and technology."

"How did you even do that? I thought you lived in a village with like, nothing there. N-Not that I'm not saying you're not smart enough to figure that out I'm just-- I'm gonna stop talking now..." Bloodhound chuckled.

"It was difficult but my parents were engineers and while it is true that my village resented anything man made I often snuck away study the abandoned machinery that was not too far away from where my people lived. And, as mentioned, I did have some outside help. The device itself is not as complicated as it may seem, it works similarly to something scanning for heat signatures. Once I activate it it scans the area that I'm facing. The whole area. It is made so nothing hidden between any wall, rock, tree or building will escape. Their heat signature returns to me and tells me their precise location. That last part works especially well in the games since we are all equipped with our trackers. With permission of the games coordinators each tracker will emit a light if scanned."

Elliot blinked, confused but understanding the gist of it. Honestly that was seriously not expected from Bloodhound of all people. They made that? They created that thing specifically to start a new life for themselves and their people and even adjusted it to fight this blood sport? Elliot liked Bloodhound even more now.

"Honestly that is inrec- incredid- amazing! So, okay so you don't hate tech it's just like, a weird relationship you have with it is what I'm getting. Anyway, is that why you hate- well not hate but just, uh, strongly dislike Pathfinder? I'm geniun- genin- actually curious because, this is going to sound really mean, it's hilarious every time you're passive aggressively mean to him. He's my friend and all and- don't ever tell him I said this- my life would suck a little more without him around but it's just funny! Like when you two first met and he tried to give everyone a high five and when he got to you you called him an over sized wristwatch then when he asked you what you said you told him to watch out because Artie likes shiny stuff then you just let him attack Path for a week straight! I gotta hand it to you buddy, you weren't trying to be funny but it was hilarious how you'd just let Arthur go over and just start pecking him down. Doesn't even hurt the tin can just mildly annoys him I think." Elliot laughed at the memory and looked over at his teammate. The hunter paused and said nothing. For a moment Elliot freaked out and thought he said something wrong but then a miracle happened. Okay maybe not a _miracle_ but it was definitely unexpected.

Bloodhound giggled softly then broke out into a full blown laugh. They were laughing and enough Elliot cracked a smile and couldn't help but laugh too.

"Wh-Why are you laughing?" Elliot managed to sputter out. Bloodhound clutched their stomach and tried to calm themselves down. Oh god that was adorable and Elliot meant that in a strictly platonic way. "Oh! Remember when you started messing with Caustic just to spite him? God what'd he do? Like threatened Arthur right? So you just started sneaking into his room and messing with his shit just enough to where he'd notice but not enough to do too much harm! God it was so obvious that it was you but you just," Elliot's eyes were watering now, his laugh turning silent but still going strong, "you just kept denying it and holy shit did it drive Caustic crazy! He would spout out all of his smart talk and be all good at words and you'd just say it wasn't you!" The hunter pushed their goggles down to their chin and wiped a tear away and Elliot couldn't help but feel a bit proud that he had managed to make Bloodhound laugh that much.

"At the moment," Bloodhound's laughs had calmed down enough to speak, "I didn't think of that as funny. To be honest it was more of a petty revenge or petty aggression. But now that I think about it, it's kind of funny." Elliot smiled widely.

"Yeah! I don't think you realize it but you're pretty damn hala- hali- funny." His face hurt from smiling and no matter what he tried he couldn't stop looking at Bloodhound. Their mask was still on but he could see their smile shining in their eyes. Their laughter had died down but Elliot just sat there and smiled at his squad mate. Somewhere in his mind he heard a tiny voice faintly whisper to not get attached but he ignored it. To hell with that voice, so what if he got attached? Nothing mattered right now except that Bloodhound's laugh and just pure happiness being cause by _Elliot_. Before thinking he spoke,"Listen, I-I don't want to be weird or anything but, uh, your laugh is really nice." Bloodhound turned but never got a chance to respond.

They should've known better. They're Apex Predators for gods sake! The top of the top. They knew not to let their guards down, even if this was a practice game. In a split second a shot sounded out of nowhere and perfectly pierced the back of the hunter's head. Elliot's eyes widened and suddenly remembered where the two of them were but it was far too late. Another crack from an unidentified sniper rifle echoed out then everything went black.

\- 

Elliot's head was pounding and his body felt stiff. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes only to be greeted by a blinding white light. Squeezing his eyes shut again he rolled over to his side and tried his hardest to ignore the pain. One deep breath, then two, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Bad idea, his body nearly fell forward but something caught him.

"Careful, _vinr_." Bloodhound had been awake for an hour now and had been patiently sitting by their teammate's side, waiting for him to wake up. The pain in their head was bearable now but their lungs ached but they ignored it. The ache was worth it. "You and I took quite the shots. Don't exert yourself." 

Elliot's hand was gripping Bloodhound's arm tightly, eyes opening once again. He had to blink a couple times before his eyes adjusted to the bright lights and was met with the sight of Bloodhound in bloodied clothing but their goggles and head wear was gone. Their hair was messed up and the bandage wrapped around their head didn't help the look.

"Shit." Elliot mumbled, hand going up to feel the bandage on his own head before looking down and, yup, blood on his suit. Great. 

"Humorously enough, we were the first to fall. As I suspected there were enemies nearby." Of course there were. And if Elliot wasn't an idiot they would've not been sniped down and maybe they would've won.

"Something wrong?" 

"Yeah. I killed the two of us." He sighed and slowly rose to his feet. Bloodhound reached a hand out to help but Elliot pushed it away. "I-I didn't mean to basically throw the whole match for us-" Bloodhound held a hand up.

"Nonsense. This loss is nothing but a gift to us. Even though we may not have come out as champions you and I have created a stronger connection with one another which will surely help us both in future battles." 

Oh god _don't_ say that. This is what Elliot didn't want.

"Besides," Bloodhound pushed their mask down, lungs contracting in pain as they worked harder to take in air, and smiled, "I enjoyed our time together. It has been a long time since I last felt so joyful and an even longer time since I laughed that hard." They placed a hand on Mirage's shoulder and _oh god_ his head screamed at him to not get attached to stop this before anything else happened but Mirage already knew it was far too late when his stomach flipped as he felt Bloodhound's hand slide down his arm. "And while I know the battle is long over and the conversation long dead, I would like to say that _þinn hlæjerr réttr sem nice_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words/phrases bloodhound said this chapter!  
> \- nei : no  
> -slátra: slaughter  
> -Já: yes  
> -vinr: friend  
> \- þinn hlæjerr réttr sem nice: your laugh is just as nice


	10. Different Perspectives

"Congratulations on your first victory." Bloodhound shook Loba's hand firmly. "Though we did not get a chance to meet face-to-face on the battlefield I am sure you were a worthy opponent." Loba smiled as the hunter let go and went on to shake Bangalore's hand.

"Thank you beautiful. I would return the compliment but you were far to easy to kill. And I don't want to sound rude or anything but I expected more from the famed hunter of the Outlands."

"Don't get cocky, heels." Bangalore crossed her arms and looked her squadmate up and down. "That was just a drill so you wouldn't risk breaking a nail during the real deal. Bloodhound isn't an FNG. During real combat you'll be lucky if you find them before they find you."

"I'm sure they are. I'll admit it might've been too easy because of that idiot you were teamed up with." Loba sighed. "I see so much praise for him from his fans and those higher ups but I have yet to see any talent besides a pretty face."

Bloodhound stayed silent, nodding in acknowledgement. They wanted to say something, throw some sickly sweet words right back at Loba and assure her that although she hadn't seen Elliot in his most competitive of states that he is a force to be reckoned with. But Bloodhound didn't say anything. They congratulated the two again and made their way back to their room, rolling their eyes at Loba's ignorance but reminding themselves not to judge her too soon. This was her first win and her first game against the legends. She could let it get to her head. Just this once.

As they got closer Artur cawed at his master. He flew out of his open cage to land on Bloodhound's shoulder. The hunter smiled and lowered the wall of their room, closing themselves off from the rest of the legends.

" _Heil til þú too_ , Artur." Lifting a finger they softly pet the top of their raven's head. "I apologize for not coming to see you sooner. I wanted to make sure our partner woke up well." Another caw and Artur flew to perch on one of the many hanging decorative skulls. 

Bloodhound sighed and began lighting every candle scattered about their room before making sure their door was locked and switching off the lights. They smiled contently at the dimly lit room and began peeling off their many layers of clothes. It wasn't often that they felt comfortable out of their layers and layers of protective gear but every once in a while they enjoyed relaxing in the safety and solitude of their room in comfortable garments like sweatshirts and sweatpants. Once changed they slowly eased into their hammock.

"Artur." Bloodhound spoke softly, their eyes closed. "You and I have always been alone together. Ever since my uncle met his death and I was left with no kin by my side. You know as well as I do that I often blamed myself for his demise and that thought alone led me to believe I was being punished by the Allfather. Forced to forever close myself off and forced to remain cautious around those around me. However since joining the games I have..." Bloodhound sighed. "I have come to understand it was not the Allfather punishing me but me punishing myself. The guilt I felt, while valid, only stopped me from allowing myself to be more open to my path. Perhaps stopped me from moving forward. It has been a long and painful journey but I have come to terms that my uncle's death was the will of those greater than I. And I have allowed myself to try and feel the...the...the warmth of another. The warmth of another's soul and bond. I have tried many a time to forge such a connection with those I trust the most here but I feel as if..." They opened their eyes and glanced over to their raven, "I have finally found that warmth with Elliot."

-

The bar was closed and Elliot was sitting on a stool, his leg shaking aggressively and fingers messing with the label of a beer bottle in his hand. 

This wasn't supposed to be happening. None of this was. Elliot's plan from the beginning was join the games, get the money, and have Mirage become the Outland's star. Elliot wasn't supposed to make friends, connect with people. He didn't need anything happening to anyone else. He didn't want someone else close to him to get hurt or disappear. He couldn't go through that again. 

That was the plan from the beginning. Then Wraith and that damn MRVN wormed their way past Mirage but that's fine. They're different. Elliot wouldn't- _couldn't_ \- have them disappear or forget him. That was impossible. Elliot could allow himself two people, two people he knew he couldn't lose. Mirage could have whoever he wanted.

Mirage could have whoever but Elliot ached to have more. Elliot wanted Bloodhound.

"Stop it." Elliot groaned and took a big gulp of his beer. "I don't want Bloodhound. They're _not_ my friend. _I don't need anymore of those._ "

But he wants more. He wants _Bloodhound_. He wants _more_.

Bloodhound was an air of composure that soothed the trickster and eased him out of the mirage that _was_ Mirage (hah). He was Elliot around them and it felt so nice he never wanted to stop feeling that way.

"It's not worth it." He grumbled, chugging the last of his drink and already grabbing another. "I can't do it again. I-I can't do it anymore actually. Come on, Witt. You choked in the ring. You could've easily jumped out of the way in that split second and saved both of your asses. You could've cloaked and-and gotten Hound outta the way, healed them up, and gotten to a safer area. You've done it _so many fucking times before._ " But the difference between those other times and this was clear as day. 

Bloodhound was a living, breathing person that pushed past Mirage and made it to Elliot and now Elliot's lifelong anxieties and fears are rushing forward at full speed.

His phone rang. Elliot fished it out of his pocket, saw it was Pathfinder, and declined the call before shutting it down. Good thing he took the key from Path before they headed to King's Canyon.

"What're we gonna do now." He sighed out and downed yet another beer. Drinking his problem away wasn't a good idea, even Elliot knew that, but right now he was upset and scared and was surrounded by alcohol so for once he'll make a bad decision. Okay maybe not for once but you get it. 

Now properly buzzed and _definitely_ thinking clearly his mind started coming up with different ways to stop this before it's too late. Later than too late. Super late? Irreversible? Whatever. Elliot thought about making Bloodhound hate him. Amp up Mirage to the max you know? Extra cockiness, extra chattiness, extra everything but the thought of Bloodhound looking at Elliot with hate in their eyes made his heart ache. He thought about distancing himself but he pictured Bloodhound's laugh and their shitty jokes and realized that this would be harder than expected.

_'Maybe you're in love with them.'_ An unrecognizable voice said. _'No normal person thinks about someone's laugh and gets sad.'_ Uh, yeah they do. A person who is scared to let people get close to him because he's lost those closest to him feels like that. Stupid voice. 

"I'm too buzzed and too upstet-upset to think about this now." Elliot rubbed his eyes and stood up. "I should get to bed, I have to wake up early before we take off to tomorrow's game." He grabbed the empty beer bottles and threw them away, hesitating before grabbing another one and closing up shop. One more wouldn't hurt. He was a grown man and he was going through stupid feelings. 

Walking out of the bar and inhaling the cold air made him feel a little better. Just a little. The tranquility of the night momentarily soothed the anxious thoughts swirling through Elliot's brain. 

_'Remember when Hound visited you that night in the bar? You two talked for hours.'_

"Yeah..." Great. Now he's talking to himself. _Out loud_. Did he care right now? No. "That was a great night. Easily one of the m-most memorable nights. That I've had...with them. Not there's many. And there won't be many." There won't be many. It has to stop. Elliot's just got to find a way to stop this before it got out of hand and he ends up alone and scared and-

"Friend?" Elliot looked up and saw Pathfinder standing there, worried stance and look on his screen. "When you didn't respond to my call I decided to track your location and come see if you were okay. I hope that wasn't creepy." Elliot blinked and tried his hardest to regain his composure. Force the Mirage out of him. But he couldn't. Defeated he took a big gulp of his drink and began walking.

"M'fine. L-Let's just get back to the facilities." Pathfinder nodded hesitantly and walked besides his best friend, acutely aware of his current state. The need to isolate himself, the drink in hand, the lack of talking, and overall aura of something off screamed to Pathfinder that his best friend was upset and he didn't know why. 

"Elliot? Are you okay?" The trickster waved the question away and chugged down the last of his drink. "I wouldn't suggest drinking the night before the game. You'll likely wake up with a headache."

"It's fine. I didn't have much. If anythin' I'll dig around for something in the building before we take off." 

"Okay..." 

They walked in silence, every step was worrying Path more and more. He didn't know what to do! On one hand he wanted to help his friend and try to make him feel better but he didn't know what was causing such a sour mood. On the other hand, maybe Pathfinder wasn't built to handle something like this. Sure he was way more capable of emotions than his other MRVN brethren but complex human emotions was something his processor just wasn't made for. 

They reached the building. Elliot struggled to pull out his ID so Path let them in. The trickster mumbled a thanks and stumbled inside.

"Listen Tin Can," Elliot spoke as they walked through the halls down to the living area. He didn't look up out of fear that he'd start crying and Elliot did not need Pathfinder to see him cry. Why was he going to cry anyway? There was no reason to. Stupid brain, why does he have to be so emotional while (slightly) under the influence? "I-I appreesh- apprip- appreciate you going out and checkin' up on me. I'm lucky to have such a...such great friend like you. Even if I don't act like it." Elliot stopped in front of his door, squeezing his eyes shut to discourage any tears threatening to escape. "Good luck tomorrow." 

-

Elliot's bed shook and he could feel his room move. He groaned and smushed his face against his pillow. The drop ship was detaching to make the trip to World's Edge.

Sighing, the memories of last night's pity party came rushing back. Great. Pathfinder probably told Wraith everything and now things will only get more stressful now. More stressful than losing Bloodhound? No, but more stressful. 

_'If you're so upset about not having them around why are you doing this to yourself?'_ That nagging voice in his head asked. Elliot hated that voice. It was the devil on his shoulder trying to convince him to take indulge in things he didn't deserve or things that were bad for him. 

"Need I remind you," He whispered to himself, sitting up in his bed, "Elliot Witt has dealt with way too much. Seriously, I'm like the head or-or the _president_ of the losing loved ones company. Department? Department sounds better." His room shook again and the engines began powering up. Within seconds Elliot could feel the drop ship ascending into the air. "Shit, shit shit shit!" Elliot jumped out of his bed as the wall to his room began sliding up. He dove over to the control panel and started pressing buttons in a panic. The wall stopped, stuttered, and slid back down. He sighed in relief and flopped back down. Elliot wasn't ready to mingle yet.

Closing his eyes and letting out a groan, Elliot started to talk to himself again. It was his way of...thinking better. If that made sense? It helped him process what he was saying, helped his brain juices flow better. God that sounded weird.

"Maybe I'm making a big deal out of this. I'm just making myself freak out over nothing! Seriously I-I just have to calm down and-and..." He turned to the side and looked at the one of the many posters plastered with his face, searching for an answer hidden somewhere in the perfectly combed hair or masterfully practiced wink and smile. "If I weren't so scared of possibly losing another person then I would have Bloodhound." Elliot was talking to the poster now, tears in his eyes but he didn't try to stop them. He was alone in the comfort of his room, he could have this moment. "But I'm scared and I've already done too much. At this point it's best if I tear down anything they've thought of me and just be you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bloodhound translations for this chapter!:  
> Heil til þú too- hello to you too
> 
> sorry this took so long to update! my job has been seriously tiring me out lately


	11. World's Edge: Part One

"You look like hell." Elliot heard Wraith say as he trudged over to his two friends, glass of water in one hand and two painkillers in the other.

"I feel like hell. Head hurts plus I didn't get enough beauty sleep last night." Elliot sighed before popping the pills in his mouth and washing them down. He eyed Pathfinder but as far as he could tell the tin can hadn't uttered a word.

"Don't worry about the game. Remember it's just a practice. And I hear they're not televising this one because of the new supplies they're giving us to test out." Now this was news.

"What new supplies? Why wasn't I informed of this? Seriously I'm starting to think everyone's having secret club meetings where all you guys do is make each other cute little friendship charms and throw in whatever you want into the ring!" Wraith rolled her eyes.

"It was in the email they sent last night. I guess you didn't see it. They're implementing a portable respawn beacon so we don't have to scour the whole map to find one and try to get teammates back." Oh. Well that actually sounded useful. Good for the games. "On top of that some guns are getting switched around." Wraith shrugged. "That's about it."

"Well this game's gonna be fun now isn't it." Elliot smiled slightly, elbowing Pathfinder playfully and immediately regretting it. He always forgot that Path was made out of metal. "A-Anyway, do we know how long until we get there?"

"About ten more minutes friend!" Pathfinder finally spoke. Elliot released tension he hadn't realized he was holding, at least he knew now that Path wasn't staying silent out of fear of accidentally blurting something out. Not that he could, right? He's a robot he can't accidentally say things! His wires and processors and whatever else didn't work like a human brain. Right?

"Great! Perfect! Spet-Stect-Spe, uh, Spectacular! That's it. Anyway, I'm gonna go chill out a bit and I will see you two in the ring." Elliot winked and swiveled around. He only needed to make it these next ten minutes without Bloodhound and he would be one step closer to distancing himself from them. This'll be easy peasy!

"Elliot." Speak of the devil. Why did you have to jinx yourself Elliot? Seriously you should've knocked on wood or something. Or metal, this is a metal drop ship. Is there even wood around? Not the point.

"Hey buddy." Elliot smiled a bit, lifting his hand to wave. "Listen I-I was gonna go chill out for a bit in my room before the match-"

"Ah, I'll accompany you then. I don't believe I've ever been inside of it. I've only caught glimpses of it from an outside perspective." Oh, great. Of course Bloodhound wants to hang out with Elliot. Why wouldn't they? The two walked into the trickster's room, Elliot lagging behind a bit silently panicking _and_ calming himself down. He seriously needed to stop freaking out every time this happened.

They sat down on Mirage's bed, Mirage awkwardly crossing then uncrossing his legs then leaning back on his hands and deciding that was awkward too. Bloodhound watched him with a soft smile.

"S-So, uh, what's up? I'm just kind of assuming that something is up because you wanted to hang out with me in my, uh, room. Of course nothing's gotta be up per se..." Keeping his eyes off of Bloodhound Elliot became aware of just how much of his face was plastered on the walls of his room. All of his very own eyes staring down at him, judging him. He's Mirage goddammit! Mirage is smoother than that! Get a grip.

"I simply wanted to enjoy your company. You are a friend of mine after all and my current teammate. But...I did want to ensure that you did not take our loss in the last game too much to heart." Bloodhound shifted slightly to face their teammate and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "In my humble opinion a loss is greater than any victory. It teaches warriors that no matter how skilled they are, improvement will always be needed. And as I have said before, I do enjoy reinforcing the blossoming bond you and I have forged." Elliot smiled. In that moment he completely forgot his previous plan of distancing Bloodhound from himself. He placed his right hand on top of Bloodhound's and spoke softly.

"Thank you. Seriously i-it means a lot. Especially coming from you. That-That sounded weirder than I thought it would but I just don't want you to, uh...worry about me because I don't think I'm worth worrying over. Especially after something as small and insin-insnig- unimportant as that. And I know me being Mirage i'm perfect in practically every aspect and choking in the ring like that was seriously- you know what? I'm just gonna stop there." Elliot smiled and let out a quiet, awkward laugh and even if he couldn't see their face, Bloodhound was smiling with him. 

The drop ship shuttered and the other legends began making their way to the center where the platforms would lower. Jeez it's been ten minutes already?

Bloodhound stood up and offered a hand to Elliot. Hesitantly he took it and rose to his feet. Although his mind groaned and angrily reminded him what he was doing to himself Elliot ignored it. He knew what he was doing and he knew what he had to do and he would do it. But maybe after this next game. It'll be easier then, yeah? Yeah.

Artur flew over to perch himself on Bloodhound's forearm and Elliot slid the holo-disk on their arm, patting their arm when it was placed and booping Artur's beak. The platforms began to lower and, like last time, Bloodhound whispered softly to their raven companion before allowing him to fly free.

"You already know where we're going!" Elliot lowered his goggles over his eyes and clapped his hands. Thank god the drop ship's flight path wasn't immediately over their destination. And from a quick observation it looked like no one was planning on bunching up together. Perfect! "I don't know if you've ever really gotten the chance to fully admire the beauty that is the Mirage Voy'age but today, my friend, you will bathe in luxury! I spent a lot of my precious time and effort making that bad boy." Elliot winked and peeked over the edge of the platform. "Oh and Hound?"

"Hm?"

Elliot grinned mischievously and slapped his hand on Bloodhound's back, catching them off guard and making them lose their balance. As they fell off the platform Mirage laughed and jumped off after them.

"That was payback!" Elliot yelled over the sound of the wind, their jet packs linking and steadying the two as Elliot steered them toward what was likely the Apex games' most expensive part of the arena.

They landed at the top of the party ship, overlooking the bar and jacuzzi. Bloodhound glanced around as Mirage strutted towards a control panel. As they examined the weapons on the ground close to them Mirage pressed an odd combination of buttons and a secret compartment hissed open. He grabbed a small remote device and jogged to his partner.

"Might I ask what that is?" Bloodhound cocked their head to the head as they looked down at the device in Mirage's hand.

"I am very glad you asked my dear friend." Elliot flung an arm around Bloodhound's shoulders and steered them to over to the panel. "Ya see, this is my ship and since it's my ship I have a secret remote device that basically lets me control a lot of its, uh, what's the word? Features! That's it. Anyway," Elliot motioned to the two firmly shut compartments on the ground, "You know those two right? You basically set off the ship's party mode and out comes fireworks and lights and holograms and music? The works you know? Well with this bad boy in hand I can just, boop," he clicked a button and out popped the two cargo bots, no light show in sight, "and we get our loot party-free. It's helpful for keeping a low profile while on here. No one knows how to get the remote besides me so it's like a super cool secret weapon of mine!" Elliot grinned widely and looked at his teammate.

"That is truly impressive." Bloodhound smiled softly underneath their mask. "Giving yourself a stealth advantage on what is the most attention grabbing area in the arena is very clever. I admire your smarts."

"Heh. Y-Yeah, well, you know me! I'm, uh, always looking for an extra edge in battle and have I mentioned the amount of hidden things I have on this bad boy?" Bloodhound shook their head. As Elliot spoke they became distracted, losing focus on the words being said and watching their squad mate's face intently. They noticed the scar on his cheek, his brows moving up and down to match his expressions, how when he stuttered or couldn't quite get a word right his tongue would stick out just a tiny bit and he would bite down ever so gently as his mind raced to fix his verbal error. Elliot spoke on and Bloodhound watched his face. In a moment it occurred to them that his arm was still placed around their shoulders. It felt...nice. A comforting weight. Bloodhound closed their eyes to relish the moment, the feeling, and they unconsciously leaned into Elliot's touch.

Mirage felt the shift in his teammate's weight move closer to him and his mind screamed at him. Pulling away instantly he stopped mid sentence and became a stuttering mess, apologizing for distracting them and possibly ruining this game too.

"Please," Bloodhound raised a hand and stopped the mess of a man in his tracks, "You ruined no game. But I understand, we are in battle. You and I will converse at a later moment. For now...I think I'll explore the ship." They tapped their earpiece and their linked communicators beeped to life. "If you need me I am but a call away." Mirage nodded as Bloodhound turned and hopped off the upper deck and onto the main area.

The first stop was, obviously, what most considered the "entrance" of the ship. That one odd room on the lower area with twin staircases leading up to the main deck. Sure Bloodhound could have just went into that room through the door to their immediate right but they wanted the "full experience" and made their way down to the lower deck. They stood a few feet in front of the large sculpture placed perfectly between the two staircases though they didn't pay much attention to it. The two very large and very...interesting, to say in the least, oil paintings on the walls kept stealing Bloodhound's glances. Finally they gave up on trying to ignore them and studied the pieces of art.

They were ridiculous.

Bloodhound smiled widely and tried their best not to laugh but it was difficult. Looking at Elliot making such odd faces in such odd poses was amusing but the idea that someone had to spend hours of time and effort to paint these in order for them to be decorations on a party ship that would be a part of a blood sport's arena was more amusing.

"Round one. Beginning ring countdown." The announcer's voice broke the hunter's attention and prompted them to look at their tracker. The gods favored them, they were already in the ring. With that in mind Bloodhound relaxed and took the next hour or so examining the ship. Moving up the stairs and onto the main deck they walked leisurely around. watching the pre-programmed holograms dance about and have a great time. As Bloodhound took it all in they remembered Elliot's bar and the room he had there. It paled in comparison to the very ship he designed but somehow it felt more natural. If given a choice Bloodhound would prefer spending an evening or afternoon at an old bar with peeling paint and the permanent smell of something old and wet than on such a flashy ship. Then again perhaps that was a personal preference.

Bloodhound closed their eyes and breathed in deeply.

Maybe it wasn't a personal preference but more of a connection to the place and any memories tied there. Or perhaps it was because something felt off about the ship. Something felt insincere. It felt as if maybe it was too much or trying too hard.

"Hey! Hey Hound!" Elliot waved wildly to catch the hunter's attention before pointing to the sky behind them. Bloodhound turned and saw the cargo bot flying slowly nearby. They turned and nodded to Mirage before scooping a P2020 off the ground and waiting for the right moment to shoot it down. In one shot the device that held and flew the cargo bot around exploded and the loot dropped to the ground. "Good job buddy!" Bloodhound smiled, imagining Elliot's wide smile as he spoke. "Bring me back something good if you find anything!" As they walked to the edge of the ship Bloodhound raised their arm above their head, giving Mirage a thumbs up before hopping off and landing on the snow below them. The loot was strewn about, some of it had managed to bury itself slightly in the snow. 

_"Caw!"_ Bloodhound's attention was once again diverted. They had positioned themselves into a squat as they dug around and examined the fallen items. They lifted their head and looked around, finding the source of the noise coming from Artur who had perched himself on the nearby rocks.

" _Heil_ Artur." Bloodhound smiled and extended their arm for their companion but Artur stood still. "Come, _félagi_. You and I must gather this and return to our squadmate." Bloodhound nodded to their arm but Artur stayed still. "Hm. Have it your way then but when you seek rest during this fight your perch may not be waiting for you." Artur cawed, a hint of annoyance in the avian's call. "I offered you my arm but you-" Cawing again, the raven jumped around and flapped his wings. It was at this moment Bloodhound noticed a soft glow just underneath him. They squinted. "You...refused to perch." Bloodhound stood up and walked towards the light, Artur flew upward and landed on his master's head.

"Curious." Bloodhound whispered as he picked up the device. It was a phone, powered on for who knows how long. On the screen was a popup that read _"Listen to recording?"_. Curiosity got the best of the hunter. Clicking yes and lifting the phone to their ear, their heart sank.

_"Hey! Well isn't it the most beautiful woman in the world? I mean, I gotta get my good looks from somewhere...heh, How ya doin' Mom?"_ Bloodhound swallowed thickly, mind scolding him and telling him to put the phone down and walk away. This was not their business. They should not be listening to this. _"Oh me? I'm perfect, as usual."_ That was a lie, Bloodhound could tell. Elliot's tone shifted slightly before returning to a happier tone. _"Hey get this, they asked me to take over the games for a bit during the holidays! It makes sense ya know? Give the fine people of the Outlands what they want, right? ...Yeah...Yeah That's right mom..."_ Elliot's voice changed again and Bloodhound recognized it. It was the same tone he had when his mother was mentioned, when he first awoke after the first game and apologized to Bloodhound. _"Y-Yeah, I'm your son...Elliot."_

Shutting their eyes tightly Bloodhound pulled the phone away from their ear but they could still hear Elliot's broken voice. Ignoring it the best they could they placed the phone back where it was originally. As they walked back to the ship the last thing Bloodhound heard from it was Elliot telling his mother he loved her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words that bloodhound uses!:  
> heil: hello
> 
> also! I believe i'm reaching the halfway point of this fic, super excited to release this next chapter because after that well, hoooo boy :)  
> also thank you to all who comment! i read every comment and while i dont respond i appreciate every single one, i love seeing your reactions to the chapters and these two dummies


	12. World's Edge: Part Two

Guilt and heartache consumed Bloodhound's thoughts. As they watched Mirage ramble on about something related to the ship he worked so hard on their mind replayed the private conversation over and over and over and over-

"Hound?" Mirage was leaning over the counter of the bar as a preprogrammed hologram cleaned a fake glass. A worried expression on his face as he looked Bloodhound up and down. "You look- well not look because I can't exactly see you considering the, uh, mask and goggles. I guess feel? That sounds weird but you feel worried. Or different. I dunno. You haven't moved or talked in like five minutes so..." Mirage cleared his throat and smiled slightly. "What? Is my genius freaking you out? Ya see this is why I try to hide my smarts. If people found out I was this good looking and smart? On top of everything else? I'd scare everyone away. Heh." Bloodhound hummed in amusement but their mood did not change. Still, they put on an act for the sake of their squadmate. It was clear they had more pressing issues weighing their thoughts down.

"I am fine. I was simply lost in your words. Truly you have a gift." Mirage blushed slightly but the hunter didn't notice. "Forgive me if I worried you. But on a serious note I suggest you and I actually gather some supplies so we can start heading to the second ring. Our time runs short."

"R-Right." Mirage nodded, pushing himself away from the bar. "Sorry for talking so much. Heh, guess I just like the sound of my voice a bit too much." Elliot mentally cringed. That sounded stupid and forced but he had to. For the sake of not going through any more hurt he had to really push Mirage to annoy Bloodhound. "Anyway let's gear up and we can head out." With the click of a button on his handy-dandy remote the cargo bot being used as a disco ball dropped into sight. The two parted ways yet again and gathered up much needed supplies. Once they were ready they jumped down onto the snow below and started heading towards the Lava Fissure.

Silence filled the air between them for only a second. Mirage was determined to not steer away from his plan.

"You know it's a shame we didn't start the party on the ol' Me Ship." Mirage put his hands behind his head and sighed. "Seriously though, whole ship full of me? Being nothing but beautiful and perfect? I almost didn't want to leave ya know?" He grinned glanced over at Bloodhound. They stayed silent and Mirage took it as a good sign. Not really a good sign really, it kind of hurt to be silent but it's what needed to be done so it was a good sign? Right? Ugh. Okay. No more thinking. Just talk but Mirage-style not Elliot-style.

"So!" Elliot clapped his hands together as they walked. "I see this time you don't have the uh, charge rifle with you! You know I love those things but at the same time I hate them. They just hurt so damn much when you get hit by them you know? Especially in the-" Bloodhound stopped abruptly and shot an arm out to stop Elliot in his tracks. With a finger to their lips (or where there lips would be behind the mask) they looked at the sky, completely still. It was at this moment that Mirage heard the sound of a familiar drone drawing closer. He looked up at the sky and spotted it in seconds. Sending a decoy to run out in the opposite direction Mirage pushed Bloodhound behind a boulder.

"What are you doing?" Mirage shushed Bloodhound and squatted down, signaling for his squadmate to do the same.

"Okay so I have the perfect idea. I'll distract Crypto and you know, strut the goods around and get his attention. You gotta find him and take the kid out."

"And what of his squadmate? Gibraltar would be nearby would he not?" Shit. That's right.

"Okay yes you're a hunded-hunred- hundred percent right. So new plan. Uh..." Crap. There was no new plan. "Okay I'm out of ideas. Really the only thing I have right now is that and maybe you just ambush them with the pile of grenades we got."

"Okay." Mirage stopped and looked at Bloodhound, confusion in his eyes. He looked the hunter up and down before speaking again.

"Wh- uh, what do you mean...?"

"I mean okay. Let's do it." Mirage gulped. This was unexpected. Running in outnumbered with no plan was incredibly stupid and dangerous! What was Bloodhound thinking agreeing to this plan? Honestly! If they got into trouble, which they likely would, Mirage would be too far to run over and at least try to heal them up and get them back on their feet or fight the enemy squad off. This was too dangerous and stupid. Bloodhound could get hurt. They could get downed and maybe even-

"A-Are you sure?" Elliot rubbed the back of his neck nervously, racking his brain to try and think of a better and safer plan. "I-I-I mean we can just sit back and, uh...wait? Yeah let's do that!"

"Nonsense. I have full faith in you. If anything once I locate our enemies location I can then bombard him with my grenades and shoot from afar. And if I get hurt I trust that you will do the best you can to save me or win." Elliot let out a nervous huff and struggled to find the words to properly explain his worry.

But why explain? Wasn't the whole reason of that dumb plan to show Bloodhound how dumb he was? Yeah but now he's regretting it and now there's a tightness in his chest at the thought of Bloodhound being mowed down by bullets. How does it feel, Elliot? Your own plan backfired and now you're struggling to keep your cool.

"Yeah. Okay. Le-Let's do it." Mirage forced a smile. "We'll do great. Our squad will beat up their squad and tote-totally redeem ourselves from the last game..." Why did he say that? Any of that? Why was he standing up slowly jogging towards the sound of the drone? Why isn't he stopping and sprinting back to Bloodhound to grab them and rush them to safety so Elliot could protect at least one person?

Mirage clenched his jaw and stopped, looking back only to see the familiar red glow illuminate from Bloodhound's moving body. They were already on the hunt and there was no going back now.

The drone's whirring got closer and Mirage snapped back to his mission. Grabbing a rock off the ground he tried his best to hit the drone. Unfortunately his aim wasn't the best but at least it got Crypto's attention.

"HEY! Hey kid!" Mirage waved and arm at the drone that watched him silently. "Help me out! Point me in your direction so I can show you," Taking the havoc out of its holster Elliot grinned, "A cool new trick I learned. You won't even know what hit ya!" The drone lowered itself slightly but other than that there was no response. "Oh c'mon Cryppy!" Knowing that nickname was seriously hated by the hacker, Elliot hoped it would get him more of a response. "You're always going on about how you'll remember the times I'm bugging you when we're in the ring but now that you have your alone time with me- which by the way _a lot_ of people would kill for alone time with me for obvious reasons," Mirage gestured to himself and winked at the drone before continuing, "Anyway, now that you have alone time with your favorite legend you're not jumping on the chance? Honestly I am speechless. Speechless and shocked."

Still no response. Worry started to form in the back of Mirage's mind but he tried his best not to let it show on his face.

"Our brotha may not want some alone time with ya but I sure do." Mirage's face fell and the color drained. "What's the matter, Elliot?" The sound of a Gibraltar's gun shield activating hummed behind the trickster as he slowly began accepting his fate. "You didn't forget yah pal Gibby didja?"

In the split second he had before Gibraltar pulled the trigger Elliot started the party. Diving out of the way as five other Mirages did the same in different directions, Mirage managed to barely escape the bullets being shot in his previous spot. Now the gun stopped shooting and Gibraltar stood still, eyes darting between each Mirage surrounding him. Elliot's first instinct was to make a run for Bloodhound but the small and sensible part of his mind told him to stay put. Bloodhound could take care of themselves.

"I see ya upgraded your holograms." Gibraltar stepped forward and the group of tricksters stepped back, their hands all gripping their havoc. "Well played bruddah. But I know how to find the real you." As the bigger man pulled out a thick and large capsule Elliot started sprinting. The capsule hit the ground and a beam shot into the sky, signaling an airstrike.

"Hound!" Elliot was tripping over his feet as he pressed his communicator and called for his squadmate. "Hound I have Gibraltar but-" _beepbeep._

The connection between the two died and now Elliot was seriously panicking. He had no way to communicate with Bloodhound and there were explosives raining down on him. Mind now running purely on impulse he ran toward a zipline. Jetpack connecting with it, Elliot was propelled in an upward incline to a hilltop where he thought he saw Bloodhound going. He didn't know, his mind was going too fast and he couldn't remember where they went!

"Bloodhound? Bloodhound!" Still no connection. If Elliot wasn't focused on running and looking for Bloodhound he would be crying.

-

" _Hound! Hound I have Gibraltar but_ -" Bloodhound double tapped their ear piece and cut Mirage's voice off. His eyes were trained on the man hidden in the bushes staring intently at the projected screen in front of him. No noise, not now. They had the shot aimed perfectly they just needed to pull the trigger-

The ground shook violently. Bloodhound lost their balance and their aim. Quickly adjusting themselves they saw that Crypto was already standing up and looking in the direction of the explosives. Cursing silently Bloodhound pulled the trigger, successfully shooting their enemy in the leg. Now they had no choice but to take the fight up close.

R-99 in hand they sprinted forward and aimed at their opponent. Even though he was caught off guard Crypto was not unprepared. Leg bleeding, he leaned back on a rock for support and shot at the hunter. Unfortunately the pain in his leg and unsteady ground made it difficult to get a clear shot and now Bloodhound was getting closer and closer. In a last ditch effort he pulled a handful of arc stars out and began chucking them at Bloodhound.

Not exactly a smart strategy but it worked. Skidding to a halt and eyes widening at the electric stars being thrown Bloodhound tried to find somewhere to run before they blew up and shocked everything within range.

A cloud of smoke appeared in the corner of their eye and the hunter made the impulsive decision to run towards it. A frag grenade was thrown towards the retreating hunter and its explosion pushed them up into the air and towards their desired location. On the bright side now Bloodhound was where they wanted to be. On the bad side? Their body shield was cracked and flickering on their body. The smoke gave Bloodhound a moment to grab a shield cell from their backpack and somewhat repair their armor but soon the bullet rain started again. Now coming from multiple directions Bloodhound realized they had thrown themselves in the middle of a heated fight.

Activating their sonar they saw that _all_ enemy squads had managed to be in the same place at the same time. Perfect. Just perfect.

Climbing up onto a nearby building they turned their communicator back on.

"-Seriously starting to freak me out! P-Please Hound a-at least-" Elliot's frantic voice was cut off by the crack of a sniper. He yelped in surprise and jumped to the side, at least that's what it sounded like.

"Elliot I-" Another arc star was thrown. From where? Who threw it? Who knows, who cares. Bloodhound jumped off the building as the explosive, well, exploded behind them and cracked their armor again.

"O-Okay buddy stay there I am on my way-! J-Just stay alive? Okay? Please." There was a hint of something in Elliot's voice. Pain? Pleading? Bloodhound couldn't tell and they couldn't analyze it now. They were too busy shooting at an overly energetic daredevil as he ducked and dodged the oncoming bullets and threw more and more explosives. Seriously where did he get all of those?

A crow's call alerted Bloodhound and they immediately spun around and hopped to the side just in time to narrowly avoid getting hit by grappling hook. Instead the hook latched onto Octane's chest and roughly pulled him towards Pathfinder. Bloodhound took this opportunity to head towards Lifeline and laser her down with their R-99. Unfortunately they didn't get as many shots as they hoped as the wheezing of gas trap being deployed urged Bloodhound to get back on the move. Growling in annoyance they sprinted away from the fight and ran to a seemingly safe building a little ways away from the fight. Great, now they had to be careful. Glancing down at the river of lava below them Bloodhound remembered the very uncomfortable feeling of being burned alive.

Slamming their body into the door and panting loudly, Bloodhound ripped their backpack off and grabbed a shield battery. As the adrenaline faded away the searing pain of bullet wounds and several explosives came flooding in.

"This is an unfortunate," Bloodhound grunted as they pulled a syringe out a syringe, yanked their sleeve down and pressed the syringe on their bare wrist, "turn of events..." They winced slightly as the syringe stuck deep into their wrist. The feeling of the fast acting chemicals rushed through their veins. Soon enough and bullets stuck in their body were pushed out and the wounds began closing. The process was uncomfortable and not easy to watch. Bloodhound could even go as far as saying they somewhat hated this. Sometimes they preferred dying than going through this over and over again.

They remembered when they first entered the games. They were taken to the Syndicate's doctor, given a full checkup, and were about to be injected with something that looked unnaturally colored. Bloodhound argued until they explained the need for this injection. It would heal any wounds received during battle at an alarming rate and leave them alive enough for their doctors to work their magic and have them fully healed for the next game. At the time Bloodhound was impressed and intrigued. How could someone think of such a clever tool to use in a blood sport? Then came the small device that actively pumped and filtered the medicine through their body. When that and the fact that they needed to have it surgically inserted into their body was mention Bloodhound had to be sedated for the doctors to complete the process. To this day Bloodhound doesn't know where in their body it is.

"Hound?" Elliot's voice rang through the ear piece, gunfire loud in the background. Hearing his voice was like a burst of energy.

"Elliot." The hunter smiled and began shoving their things back into their backpack.

"Bloodhound!" There was relief in Mirage's voice. "L-Listen there is a MASSIVE fight out here. Like, seriously. I saw Caustic die then get brought back by one of those new uh, thingies. What're they called? Respot beacons? Anyway the point is- SHIT!" The gunfire sounded closer and was now accompanied by the sound of retreating footsteps. "I-I'm getting shot at here! B-But stay where you are it's-" Double tapping their earpiece, Bloodhound cut off communication again.

"Nonsense." Reloading their gun and slinging their backpack onto their shoulders, Bloodhound closed their eyes. "I am _Blóðhundr_ , and I leave no fighter behind. May the Allfather protect me."

It felt like adrenaline except...more euphoric. It felt like they were floating inside their own body as the nature's powerful spirit grabbed Bloodhound's hand and pulled them close to lend them their strength, their knowledge. Bloodhound's slow and steady breathing turned into an open mouthed pant as their eyes opened widely, scanning everything around them. The world around them may be grey and bleak in these moments but they could see everything that posed a threat. A loud growl escaped their lips as they ran to the battle. Faster than any normal human they sprinted past Pathfinder as he tried to once again grapple the hunter. Turning sharply on their heel Bloodhound took aim and fired at the poor MRVN. Pathfinder's screen changed to a sad face as the bullets cracked his shield and pierced his metal body. Bloodhound's ear perked as the sound of footsteps came closer. They turned again and began shooting at Caustic. They grunted as Caustic's shotgun pumped shells into their chest but that didn't stop Bloodhound. They took this opportunity to take their handaxe out and slide to their enemy. Once close enough Bloodhound swung, handaxe cutting deep into the other's leg. Now Wattson's attention was on Bloodhound but only for a second. The crack of a sniper and a bullet to the head made her stumble back (lucky her, she had a purple helmet on) and refocus her attention.

Shots were fired and now Bloodhound was in trouble. Their armor was damaged and unusable but their fiery spirit didn't die down, not yet. He growled again and turned around to see Wraith shooting on one side and Crypto on the other. Bloodhound was being surrounded. As bullets flew past them they raised their gun again, firing at the hacker they had failed to take down earlier. With him now bleeding heavily on the ground Bloodhound could focus their attention to Wraith, but as he aimed at her he saw her dragged Pathfinder into a portal. Her eyes were darting around the field just before she stepped in with her teammate. That's when Bloodhound noticed there were explosive raining down on them. Energy draining away they began running to a zipline that crossed the lava river. Just as they were about to get away Revenant came into view. Dropping to a slide once more, Bloodhound shot at the simulacrum until he ran out of bullets. Revenant seemed unfazed by the bullets. Maybe it was because he had red armor on him, maybe it was because he had activated a totem nearby and felt invincible. Who knew, but he simply laughed and aimed a measly P2020 at Bloodhound, shooting at his moving target.

A bullet dug into their shoulder. Bloodhound hissed in pain, feeling like they would collapse at any second. With no other option Bloodhound used the gun in hand to swing at Revenant and knock him back before throwing it at him and just barely making it to the zipline. Their vision was blurry, body weak, but at least they were getting away.

"You can't escape death." The raspy voice called out. Bloodhound was hit by the simulacrum's silencer, electricity running through their body. Devices all malfunctioned before shutting down completely. Desperate hands tried and failed to grab onto the zipline before the jet pack shut down. As they plummeted down, all Bloodhound could think of was how annoying it's going to be to be burned alive.

The burning never came.

"Hold on Hound, I gotcha." Bloodhound's eyes were barely open but even they could make out Elliot's face. Bloodhound smiled, feeling safe in the arms of their teammate. Honestly they could stay like this forever. It was comforting, heavenly even. The sensation of being touched and held so gently, the knowledge that they had been saved and were being protected by such an admirable fighter eased Bloodhound's mind. When the hunter was set down on the ground they frowned, wanting to be held again but were too weak to say anything.

Elliot didn't bother to check his surroundings before pulling out a medkit and yanking Bloodhound close. His heart was racing and hands shaking as he prepped the special syringe. Elliot's holo-disks flickered before glowing brightly, connecting with Bloodhound's and cloaking the two of them. In a panicked voice he repeatedly assured Bloodhound that everything would be fine, they just needed to relax. Just as he was about to press the syringe into Bloodhound's chest a frag grenade rolled by. A sudden burst of adrenaline coursed through the hunter's body as they yanked Elliot behind them and activated their blue knockdown shield. The grenade went off, the shield broke, and the pain returned. Now there was a ringing in Bloodhound's ears but they weren't too worried about that right now. As their eyes started closing they saw Elliot's worried face looking down at them, his mouth was moving but no words were processed. Bloodhound slowly reached a hand up to place it on Elliot's shoulder before everything went black.

-

Body throbbing in pain and too sore to move, Bloodhound pondered their final conscious moments in their previous battle. They remembered everything clearly. The pain, the battles, the feeling of being held. They let out a shaky sigh, wondering why they were awake if they felt so terrible. Slowly Bloodhound opened their eyes. Everything was blurry for a moment then their eyes adjusted. They were laying down in a hospital bed, IV in one arm, oxygen mask on, and Artur perched in his cage at the foot of the bed. Bloodhound smiled weakly and glanced around the room.

Elliot was slumped on a chair, passed out and hair an absolute mess. It looked like he hadn't even changed out of bloody clothes from battle. Bloodhound wanted to call out to him, ask why he was here, what was the outcome of the game, was he okay? But exhaustion started creeping in again and before they knew it, Bloodhound was unconscious yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whaaat another chapter so soon??? i was just super excited to post this one so i was on a writing roll finishing up the next chapter so i can upload this one. everything is happening NOW people! hope you like it!!


	13. It's All Crashing Down

Elliot felt like a kid again. Not like a kid as in happy; full of wonder and hope. But like a kid when he heard his father went missing on a mission. Like a kid when he heard his brothers went missing while on a mission to look for their missing father. Like a kid when he saw his family get cut down from six to two. Like a kid when he realized the people he loved would get hurt and he would be left alone. Forgotten.

Bloodhound's goggles were cracked and Elliot could see their dark eyes look up at him while they lost consciousness. Elliot's heart shattered and even though there was that reasonable part of his mind that said _"Bloodhound will be fine, they aren't dead. They aren't gone. Everything is fine."_ , Elliot cried silently. He felt alone. His mind telling him another person he cared for was gone, he was alone and this time it was his fault. He was so close to protecting them, saving them, and he let them down. It was his fault another person was fading away. His fault he was cursed to be alone.

Elliot stayed there in shock. Just...clutching Bloodhound's deathly still body. The firefight settled down, Caustic's hacking cough was uncomfortably close, a canister was dropped in front of him. The toxic gas made Elliot choke and wheeze but he didn't fight for a breath. His vision went dark. Caustic won this match.

Now here Elliot was, sitting in an uncomfortable chair with the pain in his chest slowly fading away. Bloodhound was fine, alive and well their body just needed time to recover and relax before they could go back to their room in the Apex facilities. Every so often tears threatened to stream down the trickster's cheeks but they never did. He felt too weak, too numb to do anything more than just sit and watch Bloodhound rest. He fell asleep once or twice sort of wishing that Bloodhound would be awake when he woke up. It didn't happen and eventually Elliot left.

He locked himself in his room for a while. Mind at war with itself. He knew he shouldn't have gotten close to Bloodhound. He knew something like this would happen. Elliot couldn't handle having someone else fade out of his life and that's why he created Mirage. And yet he couldn't even stick to his plan. It's his own fault he felt the panic seep in when he saw Bloodhound's half dead body fall from a zipline, his own fault for crying and thinking Bloodhound was gone forever even though he _knew_ that was impossible.

Elliot didn't deserve people.

"Elliot?" A worried voice asked from the other side of his door. Elliot sighed silently and wondered for the millionth time how he didn't hear Pathfinder's loud footsteps approach. "Our friend Wraith and I are very worried about you and your current well-being."

"Let us in." Groaning in frustration he kicked off his blankets and sat up on his bed.

"Guys seriously I-I'm fine. Just a little sore from...all of that." It was a crappy lie, they didn't believe it. Wraith and Pathfinder knew Elliot way too well to fall for that. "I just need t-time to recover...get some beauty rest and...relax..." Wraith and Pathfinder stayed silent, simply staring at the door and waited for their mess of a friend to open up his damn door. Eventually he did and the two marched inside. Pathfinder seated himself on Elliot's bed and Wraith on his dresser. "Okay. You're in, what do you want?" Pathfinder glanced at Wraith who remained silent. For what felt like the longest ten seconds ever, Elliot and Wraith stared one another done. Of course Elliot caved and began talking. She knew he would.

"Okay! Okay. I am afraid. You got me! Are you happy? I am seriously terri-terrified and I hate it. I hate this feeling and I hate that I let myself feel like this!" Elliot dropped onto his bed, burying his face in his hands to avoid looking at his friends. He could already feel the tears coming. "I-I told myself _so many fucking times_ this would happen. I kept...I kept trying to stop it before I ended up like this but I couldn't actually stick with any of my stupid plans." Elliot squeezed his eyes shut, his voice cracking with every word he spoke. "When I'm around Bloodhound it's just so nice. I feel like a person again and I don't want to stop feeling that way. I feel that way with you guys too but it's like...it's like they're the thing I know I can't have and I probably don't deserve but they just keep...just keep..." Pathfinder placed a hand on Elliot's shoulder as the trickster let out a shaky breath, hot tears pooling into his hands. "I don't want to be scared of losing more people but I don't want to stop my thing with Bloodhound..." Wraith nodded. She wasn't even going to attempt to ask Elliot to clarify what his 'thing' with Bloodhound was. He was too emotional to even realize what he meant by that, and even if he did by some miracle realize what he meant he'd be thrown into hysterics. Hysterics more hysterical than now that is. So Wraith was a good friend, stayed silent and listened to Elliot sob and vomit out word after word. When he calmed down she spoke.

"You can't keep living your life like this. You know that." Elliot sniffled. "We've talked about this. Everyone's lost someone. Pathfinder his creator, Wattson her dad, and me my identity." Just as he lifted his head to argue Wraith raised her hand and continued. "I'm not saying your loss is less than anyone else's, but I am saying that even though we've all lost people we learned to move forward. We don't forget them but we don't try to let that drag us to our own falls. If anything we use it to push us forward." She hopped off the dresser and knelt down in front of Elliot and placed her hand on his shoulder. Pathfinder mimicked the move and positioned his hand on top of hers. "You have to try and move forward. You can't keep living in fear and punishing yourself for something you had no control over. It's okay for you to let people close."

Silence filled the room. At some point during Wraith's speech Elliot's leg started shaking as he finally gave in to the sobs threatening to escape. He cried quietly and hid his face again. After a moment or two passed he stood up, eyes still refusing to look in his friend's direction and cheeks wet with tears.

"I-I'm gonna go t-to the, uh, to the bar..." He grabbed his bag and started shoving some clothes in there. Just as he finished up Pathfinder tapped Elliot's shoulder and held his copy of the key out to his friend. Elliot glanced down at the key then back up at Path before speaking. "S'fine. Keep it. Bar's your home as much as it is mine." He swung the bag over his shoulder. Just before he left his room Elliot called back, "And...I know you guys having the key will give you some peace of mind..." 

Elliot walked out.

\- 

"You put up a hell of a fight out there." Lifeline was leaning back on the couch. On her lap was one of Octane's legs, his other leg was on his own lap as he made some adjustments. "Seriously, I think ya got me all bruised up from the bullets." 

Bloodhound smiled slightly. Their eyes closed as they relaxed on the couch as well. After a couple of days they were finally able to get out of the uncomfortable hospital bed and back to the legend's living quarters. They were lucky their injuries weren't as severe as other games, any aches or pains would only last for a week at most. 

"Again, I apologize for doing so. I hope it does not wrinkle any friendship we have." Lifeline scoffed and waved the statement aside. 

"You of all people should know I don' care about that. Yuh did what yuh had to do. That's that. A little bit of bullets ain't gon' make me hate yah."

"Tch. She says this but gives me the cold shoulder when I play _con pistolas y granadas_." Ajay smacked Octane's arm. "Kidding! Kidding. I know the difference. _Me has regañado lo suficiente como para quemarlo en mi cráneo_."

"I am glad to hear that, _félagi._ " The two resumed talking. Octane occasionally saying something so incredibly stupid that Lifeline had no choice but to roll her eyes and argue with him. Bloodhound stayed silent, perfectly happy listening to them. But they kept their eyes trained on Elliot's door. It had been shut since they had returned and as far as they knew it had been shut since the game had ended. No one has come in or out. Bloodhound didn't know if Elliot was in there; if he was he didn't answer the multiple times the hunter knocked on his door and asked to speak with him. Bloodhound even went as far as to ask the others where the trickster had gone but no one knew. Or the two that did know weren't around when they were asking. 

Call Bloodhound crazy but something felt off. Elliot was no where to be found after another loss in the ring and the two he was closest to where gone as well. There was a nagging voice in their head saying that perhaps Elliot was avoiding Bloodhound. Maybe he felt guilt, blamed this second loss on himself. Maybe that is why he slept besides Bloodhound as he recovered from his injuries, that's why he hadn't left his room or hadn't returned. But Bloodhound didn't want to assume anything. Not yet at least.

Hours passed, the sun had begun to set. The common area was empty of all but Bloodhound who sat quietly on the couch. They were meditating, calming their mind and body of all worries, when they heard the familiar sound of metal creaking and groaning as Pathfinder walked. Opening their eyes Bloodhound saw both Wraith and Pathfinder walk into the living area.

"Ah, pardon." Bloodhound stood from their spot and the other two stopped in their tracks. "I do not wish to take up too much of your time, I simply wished to know if the two of you know about Elliot's whereabouts." And just like that all of Bloodhound's worries were deemed valid. Pathfinder's screen glitched from it's normal happy face to a worried one then back in the blink of an eye. Wraith clenched her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"He's resting up in his room. He's tired from the last match." Wraith said in a rather monotone voice. It was hard to read her face but her body language screamed something to Bloodhound. Something they couldn't quite make out, not yet.

"Elliot is really beat up from that last fight with Dr.Caustic. I don't have a respiratory system but going off on what everyone says his gas isn't very fun to inhale."

"Is that so?" Bloodhound nodded. "I had only assumed he was not on the premise considering I have tried knocking on his door a few times with no answer."

"It's best if _you_ leave him alone right now." It was like an alarm went off in Bloodhound's mind. Best if _they_ leave him alone. Could this mean Elliot was feeling guilty over their second loss? "He won't want to talk to anyone while a coughing mess."

"Thank you for your help." Bloodhound bowed their head. "I apologize for interrupting any plans the two of you may have had." With that they turned on their heel and walked into their room, lowering the wall to give themselves some privacy. Once fully alone Bloodhound sighed and shook their head.

"Oh Artur." They gently stroked the top of the raven's head as they spoke softly. "I am afraid our friend is putting blame on something that needs none. We mustn't let him think of himself in such a way...such a _ríkr_ soul is being clouded by the dreaded smoke of the self's own monsters."

They waited until nightfall to let Artur out. He was on the hunt while Bloodhound dressed and prayed to the Allfather. They stared themselves down in the mirror, mask and goggles in hands. After a moment of silent debate they decided against the two. Bloodhound could breathe, they were well enough now. And perhaps seeing Bloodhound in their most open state would assure the trickster that they are well and no guilt was needed. Bloodhound admits, it would be odd going out completely barefaced. They hadn't done this often or recently. The scars and permanent lines etched on their face felt unfamiliar as they were used to their gear. 

It was nice. They missed their face sometimes.

Artur returned with a key in his beak. Bloodhound smiled, taking the key and tossing a piece of raw meat to his companion.

" _Thank þú,_ _félagi._ Now, let us go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words/phrases octane uses!:  
> \- con pistolas y granadas: with guns and grenades  
> \- Me has regañado lo suficiente como para quemarlo en mi cráneo:   
> You scolded me enough to burn it in my skull
> 
> words phrases bloodhound uses!:  
> \- felagi: companion  
> \- rikr: powerful  
> \- Thank þú: thank you


	14. That Was A Mistake

"Thank you, _félagi_." Bloodhound whispered to their raven as they held the keys to the Paradise Lounge in their palm. The door now unlocked and pushed open slightly, they handed the keys back to Artur to return safely to Pathfinder. "I bid you a safe return. Wish me well in comforting our dear friend." Bloodhound smiled and gave Artur a little scratch on the head before letting him fly away into the night sky.

With a deep breath and a small pep talk they pushed the door open and walked into the dark, empty bar. Bloodhound tried their best to stay as quiet as possible, they didn't want to startle poor Elliot even though they were _technically_ trespassing. Trespassing with good intentions but trespassing nonetheless. They walked up the stairs while eyeing the light that outlined the door of Elliot's room. Another deep breath and they knocked.

"Not now guys..." Elliot's voice sounded so broken and tired, it made Bloodhound's chest tighten. They wanted to comfort the poor man right here right now. "I-I'm still just...super not okay. I dunno. Come back tomorrow or something and I'll pull myself together or something." Okay, now it was Bloodhound's turn to speak.

"Elliot, It's _Blóðhundr_. Pardon my intrusion but I've grown worried and came here to check up on you."

Elliot felt his heart sink down to his stomach and onto the floor. Bloodhound? Here? In his home? BLOODHOUND? Elliot said nothing but his mind was going quicker than quick. What were they doing here? How did they get in? What did they know? Did Wraith and Path say anything? Elliot didn't know what to do or say or think. All he knew was that Bloodhound was there and they knew something was wrong.

"I-I, uhhh..." Elliot sat up on his bed and looked around, not really sure what he was looking for. An escape? A disguise? An excuse? Maybe a portal would open right this second and allow Mirage to escape. Maybe he could call Path and get a zipline escape from his home to literally anywhere else. Maybe he could hide under the floor boards and pretend he wasn't even there. Maybe he could just not answer.

"It would give me great piece of mind if you let me in, Elliot." Elliot winced and knew he had no choice. Just hearing Bloodhound say his name made him want to see them so fucking bad. All the feelings he tried so desperately to get rid of or stifle came flooding back in.

Slowly Elliot got up. Hand on the door knob he gulped and pulled the door open. He looked down at his feet and stepped aside, allowing the hunter to enter his room.

"H-Hey, Hound. How's it, uh, going? Heh..." Elliot rubbed the back of his neck and kept his eyes focused on his wall of pictures. He couldn't stand to look at Hound. Not now.

"Elliot. Please," Bloodhound placed a hand on Elliot's arm but he quickly stepped back. The hunter blinked in surprise, a little hurt, but took the hint and dropped their arm. "I wish to know if you're okay or not."

"M'fine. Just...tired. Sore. Caustics g-gas got to me ya know." Bloodhound looked Elliot up and down and asked again.

"Elliot, tell me what is truly wrong. I can sense that you're not okay." He glanced at Bloodhound and immediately regretted it. Seeing them barefaced made his heart jump into his throat. It made Bloodhound feel more like a person, a person that was so close to Elliot's heart he couldn't cut off all ties with them now. He had to fight the urge to latch onto Bloodhound and sob.

"W-Wrong? Psh." Elliot has looked away again and Bloodhound noticed. "I'm just surprised- embarrassed even! To be caught in such a, uh, gross man-manner." Elliot tried his best to smile. "I mean look at me! Gross clothes and my hair isn't even done. Seriously how can you stand to see me like this..." Bloodhound frowned and crossed their arms.

"Elliot, please be serious. I am coming to you because I am worried about you. Now answer the question: what is wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wr-"

"That is a damn lie!" Elliot's eyes widened as he now looked Bloodhound straight in the eye. The outburst was unexpected. Maybe not _completely_ unexpected, Elliot knew he'd likely annoy Bloodhound with his unwillingness to explain himself but it was still kind of unexpected. "I am no idiot, Elliot Witt. I know you better than you may believe. Now tell me what is wrong right now!"

"I-It's nothing serious. Really..."

"Bullshit. If it were not serious you would not be hiding yourself here. You would not be refusing to answer my questions." Shit. They got him there. "Is it the results of this past match? If so please understand I do not care if we win or lose." Bloodhound's voice softened. They stepped forward but kept their hands to themselves. "I cherish the experience and lessons learned as well as the bond you and I have. I cherish simply spending time with you." A smile escaped Elliot's lips upon hearing that. "You and I fought bravely and with honor. It is no ones fault, especially not yours, if we did not vinna."

"Listen, i-it's not that..." Elliot took a step back and tried his hardest to look anywhere besides Bloodhound but he couldn't. Their dark eyes were filled with worry and a bit of agitation. The scars adorning their face, their dark and messy hair pulled into a sloppy braid with short strands sticking out at all angles, it all made Elliot's heart ache. Bloodhound was a person that Elliot wanted, needed, so badly but knew he couldn't have. He didn't deserve them. He didn't deserve any joy or euphoria from their presence for the irrational fear that maybe he was cursed to have people disappear.

"Then what is it?" Bloodhound pushed it, not showing any signs of backing down.

"It's s-super con-compill-compilcated...complicated."

"I have nothing but time"

"Listen, Bloodhound. I-I just can't explain okay!" Throwing his hands up in the air, Elliot swiveled around and shut his eyes. He wished when he opened them Bloodhound would be gone.

"Why not?"

"Because! It's not something I can just...explain! It's not something th-that needs or should be talked about!"

"Clearly it is! You are distraught and as your friend I have a duty to help you."

"No! You don't! You have no duty with me! I am a duty-free man!"

"Elliot you are acting childish just explain what is troubling you so I can help! It's my job as your friend!"

"I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND OKAY!" Bloodhound blinked and stepped back.

"I do not understand..."

"You and I? We can't be friends okay! I just..." Elliot squeezed his eyes shut and tapped his foot on the ground. It was difficult finding the words but he couldn't stop now. "I don't deserve to have friends. Or anyone! I don't deserve...p-people or close relationships..."

"You have Wraith and Pathfinder do you not?" There was a hint of anger in Bloodhound's voice. A quiet voice screamed at Elliot to apologize or he'd lose the hunter, he needed to cling onto Bloodhound as if his life depended on it.

"It's different with them!" His voice cracked, panic clear in Elliot's voice now.

"How?!" There was the glisten of tears in Bloodhound's eyes but the trickster tried his damn hardest to ignore it or else he'd break down right then and there.

"Because they can't die!" He let out a shaky sigh before continuing. "They can't die. You can. You can die and get hurt or forget me or anything. They can't. Path's a fucking robot and Wraith...even if she did die there's another one out there! She could just portal in and it would be like nothing happened. But you..." Elliot locked eyes with Bloodhound. His eyes were tired and sad, body language showing complete vulnerability and guilt. It was clear that this has been eating him up for a long long time. "You're a person. And I don't deserve people. Not me, not Elliot." A tear rolled down his cheek

"Elliot..."

"Mirage, Mirage gets people. He gets the friends and the love and the hot dates. He gets the attention that I dreamed of since I was a kid. But I don't. I can't," Elliot's vision was blurry as tear after tear poured out, "I can't lose anymore people. All my life I begged for, wished, prayed for attention. Anything. Then my dad goes missing. Then my brothers. Now my mom is forgetting who I am!" Bloodhound took a step forward and rested a hand on Elliot's shoulder as he grabbed attempted to wipe the tears off his face. "Elliot doesn't deserve people because that's all he ever wanted and now the people he loves are-are gone. I don't want anyone else I love to leave."

"No, no Elliot..." With a soothing voice the hunter pushed Elliot's hair away from his face and tried to find the right words of comfort. "You are deserving of people. None of that is your fault, you cannot punish yourself so cruelly for it." Elliot pulled back.

"Hound I can't be your friend. Every second I'm with you is torture. When you look at me and talk to me, the way you-you make me feel so happy so _comfortable_. I can't do it. You're a person and you can get hurt. You can die and I don't want it to happen because I don't know what I would do with myself if someone else I cared about just...i-if you..."

"I understand the pain and guilt you are going through. I witnessed the deaths of my parents and Uncle. I understand the feelings that must be bubbling within you. But please do not punish yourself, it isn't something you can control. You are deserving of the happiness you feel in another's presence." Elliot sniffed and took a small step towards Bloodhound. "You bring me such joy as well. For a long while I myself felt as if I should punish myself for the losses of those dear to me. However you brought a light so warm and blinding that I understood it was not a part of the path the Allfather had prepared for me."

Elliot's heart leapt into his throat as he laughed hoarsely. He looked at Bloodhound with such a soft smile the hunter thought it was a gift sent down from the Allfather.

"I-I just...I know I said this a lot now but...I just don't want anyone else to die. I can't go through that..."

Bloodhound took both of Elliot's hands into their own and looked him deep in the eyes. With full confidence in their voice, they spoke, "If we die. We die together."

The relief and joy faded away. Elliot's smile dropped as he pulled his hands away from Bloodhound's.

"No, that's exactly what I don't want! You don't understand..."

"Then make me understand." Bloodhound was waved off but they were persistent. "You cannot simply ignore me, explain to me! I want to help you. I want to comfort you in any way possible."

"You want that but you don't understand! That's not what I want! I don't want you to die, I don't want you to die for me or with me!"

"Then what _do_ you want?!"

What does Elliot want? The answer was so simple and so complicated. Emotions jumbled up because of fear and guilt, he didn't fully understand what he wanted from Bloodhound. Looking at them now he still couldn't figure it out. Their face so distraught, hair so messy. Bloodhound was so vulnerable and open to Elliot right now and it made him feel special. Their outfit was a little more casual than the layers and layers of protective gear but still enough to make it seem like they were going to some sort of fight. Artur wasn't at their side, their mask wasn't dangling off their neck. Bloodhound was opening themselves to Elliot and Elliot got the message loud and clear.

Grabbing Bloodhound's shoulders, Elliot pulled them in and kissed them.

It was like a breath of fresh air. A weight was lifted off his body. His body sighed in relief as his mind shut off and enjoyed the moment. His lips pressed against Bloodhound's; one of Bloodhound's hands cupping his cheek while the other held onto Elliot's elbow. Elliot had the hunter's body pressed against his, sharing the warmth he had. Who knows how long they stood like that. Time stopped. It felt right. It was right.

Then Elliot's mind turned back on. He realized what he was doing. He realized what was going on. He was scared and anxious and guilty. Elliot pulled away from the kiss and already his heart screamed to go back; it missed Bloodhound's warmth and touch. But he couldn't. His mind scolded him for setting himself up for inevitable heartbreak in one form or another. He had to do something. He had to get out of there. He had to stop this before it was too late.

"I-I," Elliot was breathing heavily. His eyes darted around the room before landing on his phone and small bag still with a couple pieces of clothes he never wore. "That-That was a mistake. That was a mistake." He snatched his bag and phone, stuttering out that he had to go before sprinting down the stairs and out the bar, leaving Bloodhound alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words phrases bloodhound uses!:  
> felagi: companion  
> Blóðhundr: bloodhound
> 
> sorry for the late update! school started up for me again and it is kicking my butt. hope you guys like this chapter :-)))


	15. Stale Beginning

It was an unforgettable feeling. The rush of emotions, the butterflies in their stomach, the need to be closer, _closer_ , to Elliot. Never had Bloodhound felt something as soft as Elliot's lips on their own. His facial hair, although scratchy, didn't bother the hunter at all; if anything it added to the sensation. His hands held onto Bloodhound so tightly it was like he never wanted them to leave. And Bloodhound didn't want to leave. They wanted that moment of pure euphoria to last forever. They didn't need to breathe, Elliot was all the air the needed. They didn't need any food or water for energy, Bloodhound's body and mind could survive on this feeling for all of eternity.

Then the moment ended. Already missing the feeling of having Elliot so close by they whined ever so softly, not even caring about how embarrassing the sound was, before opening their eyes. The trickster didn't return the feeling. There was something in his eyes and voice. Panic? Regret? Denial? Fear? Bloodhound didn't know, their mind was still cloudy from the sensation of such a sweet and genuine kiss.

Elliot's voice was shaky. Bloodhound didn't, couldn't, respond. Their body wasn't functioning until after he grabbed his things and sprinted out of the Paradise Lounge. Bloodhound blinked and regained control over his mind. They ran down the stairs, nearly tripping because their legs were shaking so much, and pushed the door open roughly. Looking around they had already concluded that Elliot was long gone. But Bloodhound was a master hunter and tracker, surely they could figure out where Elliot had gone? Under normal circumstances that would be correct. This, however, was not a normal circumstance. Although Bloodhound had managed to quickly snap out of the daze of the kiss their mind had not yet fully returned to working order. It still wandered back and lingered on the moment where everything felt so right.

"...-ou doing here? Where is he?" Blinking again Bloodhound realized that Wraith and Pathfinder were standing behind them. A portal revealing how they had gotten there so fast. Bloodhound wondered how they didn't notice Pathfinder's ever present creaking or the distorted whispering that came from Wraith's portal.

"...-really appreciate it if you'd talk to us, friend." Again, Bloodhound was distracted again. They looked at Pathfinder but couldn't find any words. Not right now. "I am very worried about my best friend and if I am being honest, which I always am!, your silence doesn't ease my processors one bit."

"P-Pardon..." Bloodhound exhaled and struggled to find the right words to try to explain. "I-I, uhm..." Their hand went up to cover their mouth, color filling their cheeks. The need to hide away, to isolate themselves and relish the still lingering feeling of such tenderness. Bloodhound's eyes flickered to the portal behind Wraith and Pathfinder. Without thinking they walked through the portal. The monochromatic world around them was full of whispers and versions of themselves from differing dimensions but Bloodhound paid them no attention. Eyes focused on the exit portal they walked straight ahead. 

"Wraith..." If Pathfinder could blink he would. "Should we look for Elliot or follow Bloodhound..." Wraith didn't know. She was dumbfounded. Bloodhound was acting strange and Elliot was gone. Something happened but she didn't know what.

Yet.

\- 

It was dark in their room, the single candle with it's flame flickering weakly tried it's hardest to fulfill it's single purpose but failed. Bloodhound was alone in the dark and safety of their room. Laying on their back, fingers lightly grazing their lips, Bloodhound felt utterly alone. Why? What was this feeling? It was just a kiss, Bloodhound has kissed others before tonight and they never felt this way.

But the other kisses weren't like the one they and Elliot shared. This kiss wasn't a shy peck shared between young lovers with no prior experience. This kiss wasn't the gentle smooch given to a partner at the end of the night. Those were nothing but short-terms whims being granted while ultimately adding to the ultimate desire that was buried deeper and deeper as time went on.

Guilt flooded Bloodhound's mind as the pulled their hand away from their lips.

"A selfish fool I am. _Hvernig stupið megekr mun?_ " Sighing and shutting their eyes, Bloodhound whispered to Artur, "Greed overtook my mind tonight. I can only pray that this...incident," They gulped, the word incident felt like a knife in the chest. Incident made the kiss sound like a sad accident and in all honesty it likely was. But to Bloodhound it was something more. They could spend hours thinking about it, describing it in beautiful detail, but they wouldn't. Bloodhound sighed and shut their eyes. They would sleep now, ease their mind, and sometime tomorrow they would talk to Elliot. They would smooth out the wrinkles made in whatever friendship they had left and then Bloodhound could return to normal and focus on much more important things.

-

Artur's annoyed cry startled Bloodhound awake. Sitting up quickly, the hunter turned to their avian companion to ask what the problem was; until he heard a knock on the door. Bloodhound's heart shot into their throat as Elliot popped into their mind. Did he come back? Was he standing outside the door at this very moment? Tears streaming down his face, fingers intertwining out of an anxious instinct? And as Bloodhound opened the door would Elliot rush forward like yesterday, pull Bloodhound so close that they could feel Elliot's heartbeat. They could feel it beating faster as Elliot tried to explain himself without stuttering only to stop and look deeply into Bloodhound's eyes before leaning in and kissing them again.

A smile crept onto the hunter's lips as they imagined such a scene. 

"I need to," Bloodhound shook their head and inhaled deeply, "Calm down. It is disrespectful to think of Elliot in such a way." 

A knock on the door snapped Bloodhound back to reality. They had forgotten someone was out there. 

"Bloodhound, friend, Wraith and I would be very happy if you help us." Ah, Wraith and Pathfinder.

Wraith and Pathfinder.

Wraith...and...Pathfinder.

Bloodhound froze, memories from last night flooding in and pushing the joy to the side.

Elliot's hurt and confused voice, tears in his eyes and hands balled into fists to try and hide the shaking. Bloodhound and Elliot had shared a kiss, yes, but Elliot had also opened up. He let all of his painful thoughts and feelings come bursting out and in a fit of raw emotions he kissed Bloodhound.

He kissed Bloodhound and said that was a mistake before running away.

"Selfish." Bloodhound mumbled to themselves as they raised their hand to rub their forehead. "I was caught up in my own feelings and desires that I completely disregarded...everything." Glancing over at the door and knowing that the other two legends were still standing there, waiting for an answer, Bloodhound swallowed thickly and began putting their mask and goggles back on.

A few silent minutes passed before the door slid open. The hunter stepped out.

"Great! Now that you're here we can all work together to help out our friend Elliot!" Pathfinder turned to look at Wraith who seemed less than excited to get started. 

"What were you doing at the bar last night? In fact, how did you get in?" Bloodhound knew that Wraith already knew the answer to that and they knew she was asking that to try and get a reaction out of them. But Bloodhound remained calm and collected while answering.

"I had Artur collect the key from Pathfinder. Though my intentions behind it were good, I admit I acted a bit inappropriately. I apologize for stealing from you, _felagi_." Bloodhound nodded to Pathfinder. "As for why I was there, well it is no secret that Elliot and I have grown considerably closer these past few weeks. I noticed something was troubling him and I wanted to help." Bloodhound swallowed thickly. "And I suppose I should...answer this question before you ask it but Elliot and I had a bit of an...incident last night. He...shared certain thoughts and we may have of had...something happen between us which, uhm, may have of convinced Elliot to run away..." Bloodhound was quickly losing their cool and it was so painfully obvious. Under their mask their face felt hot, embarrassed that they were basically explaining to Elliot's closest friends that yeah the two of them kissed last night and yeah Bloodhound was in so much shock last night they acted like a total idiot. 

Allfather save them now, the embarrassment was too much.

Wraith looked Bloodhound up and down and raised her hand to stop them from continuing. She'd heard enough.

"Elliot is complicated, emotionally. He doesn't always know what he's doing or saying. Don't take anything he said or did too seriously." Bloodhound nodded hesitantly and Wraith could almost make out the exact moment when Bloodhound's heart broke. She felt bad but it was for Elliot, he could make a better impression later if he wanted or he could leave things as is. Wraith left him a new page to start on.

Opening a portal behind her and Pathfinder, Wraith thanked Bloodhound for talking to them and gave the hunter a sympathetic look before stepping in and disappearing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHHHH! Two months, im super sorry everyone! School came in and absolutely took over. Classes are so much harder this semester ;-;. Hopefully I can start updating more regularly now that midterms are behind me but finals are ahead so we'll see. Let me know what you think of this chapter! I love reading everyone's comments :'-)
> 
> words/phrases Bloodhound uses this chapter!:  
> \- felagi: friend/companion  
> \- Hvernig stupið megekr mun: how stupid can I be


	16. Pre-Panic, Pre-Idiot

"H-Hey man," Elliot grinned nervously as he raised his hands up defensively. "Listen I have a full house here, people are waiting for their booze..." The stranger that had him pinned up against the wall looked him up and down. Something about this stuttering bartender was so familiar but so different. Blisk scoffed and let the poor guy go. "Th-Thank you..."

"Thought you were someone else. Sorry mate." Blisk held his hand out for Elliot to shake. "You look like 'im, but sound nothing like him." Elliot hesitantly shook Blisk's hand.

"Don't worry about it, heh. Stuff like that happens, especially when running a bar. People always get into deals or fights or whatever when drunk then they come back the next day and don't remember anything about the guy they're planning on kicking the crap out of but they do remember my face and, I don't know, _somehow_ they think that I, you know, _the bartender_ , was the one that pissed them off." Elliot laughed lightly and looked down. God was he really shaking hands with this dude the entire time he was rambling? That's weird, he should really let go of this guy's hand. "My name is uh, Elliot by the way."

"Hm." Blisk crossed his arms. "I don't think it's very smart to go around givin' your name to people that nearly attacked you." 

"Yeah well," Elliot shrugged, "Past is past. Plus I take pride in trying to befriend all my customers, gets them to come back more." Elliot winked and immediately regretted it. God why was he so weird? "Right, well, I-I'm gonna head back up to the-"

"Whiskey on the rocks." The older man tossed his card at Elliot before turning around and walking away. 

"Right, okay. Coming right up..." Elliot sighed and looked at the card in his hands. "Kuben Blisk? That's a funny name." Elliot shrugged. He got a whole bunch of crazy people in the bar, what was one more?

As the night dragged on Elliot noticed that the Blisk guy kept staring at him. It made Elliot a bit uneasy to be honest. But he tried to not let it show. If he knew one thing it was to not show fear to a dude who was definitely way stronger than you. Seriously though, how old was this guy? Like 60? And he could easily grab Elliot by the collar and lift him up. He's gotta be in some kind of superhuman program, right? Maybe he was a secret high-tech simulacrum.

By the time the Paradise Lounge closed Blisk hadn't left yet. As Elliot wiped the bar counter down the older man walked over and seated himself on a stool. 

"Listen, sorry for earlier. You just look way too similar to some bastard I know." Elliot chuckled softly.

"I-It's fine, really! I think you bought enough drinks tonight to make me forget the whole thing ever happened. Oh! Speaking of which..." Elliot pulled his wallet out and grabbed Blisk's card. That's when Blisk noticed it.

"Oi, where did you get that?" In the ID holder sat an old Apex Predators card. One that was wrinkled and yellowed with age. Elliot glanced down at the wallet in hand and pulled out the card.

"This? My dad gave it to me years ago." He smiled softly at the memory. "Before he went out on a mission and never came back." 

Blisk cocked an eyebrow and stared at the card for a moment, the puzzle pieces slowly coming together. he looked Elliot up and down once more before sighing and leaning onto the counter top.

"Was your dad's name Jack? Jack Cooper maybe? Before he got married to your mom that is." 

Okay, this was freaky.

"Y-Yeah. How did-did you-?"

"I tried to kill your daddy around thirty-five years ago. Nothin' personal, I was hired to do some mercenary type of work and he happened to get in the way." Blisk shrugged nonchalantly. "Then a few years back we met again, he was called in for a mission and I gave him a tip on a missing friend of his and a time-hopping gizmo I had my people fix up. Set him up for success but from the sound of it he never came back." Blisk sighed and looked up to Elliot who stood there, confused. 

"So you knew my dad? You thought I was my dad and you tried to kill me for it? Even-Even though...what? I-I don't get it."

"Kid, you look like the guy I haven't seen since I gave him the means to go to a planet that exploded decades ago. Any sane man would attack first and ask questions later." Blisk sighed. "I'm not exactly the purest guy out there and many people have tried to kill me a number of different ways."

Elliot was still confused. So very confused.

"Again, sorry about that shit. And sorry 'bout your dad." The older man laid an awkward hand on Elliot's shoulder and patted sympathetically. Elliot could tell Blisk wasn't used to doing these kinds of things. "Why don't you stop by my place," Blisk spoke as he pulled a pen out of pocket and scribbled his number and address on a napkin, "I can, I dunno, tell you more about Jack and where he went. Offer you some kind of...closure on him." 

Blisk was uncomfortable but he tried to mask it best he could. Most of the times what he did in the past didn't bother him. Money was money after all and he never chose a side. However seeing this kid made his stomach knot and twist in a certain way he just couldn't ignore. Yeah Blisk and Jack were never the best of friends, or friends at all, but the two came to an understanding. No hard feelings, no longer trying to kill each other.

Sometimes Blisk hated trying to be a good guy.

-

When people go to their childhood homes they're supposed to feel warm and nostalgic. Happy memories and feelings flooding through them as they walk through the home they grew up in. Elliot never felt that way. To him his childhood home reminded him of missing family, never ending feelings of loneliness and anxiety. But he kept the house under his name, he kept it in good shape and never touched a single thing inside of it. He would visit it sometimes when he was feeling especially bad. Like now.

Laying on the bed he shared with one of his brothers and staring up at the ceiling, Elliot wondered how stupid he could be.

Why kiss Bloodhound? Seriously, what was the reason? What was that going to do? Was kissing Bloodhound going to magically make all of your problems go away? WHAT WAS THE REASON ELLIOT WITT?

Elliot knew. He's known this whole time. What kind of a person thinks of their friend's laugh and think, _'Wow! I wanna hear more of that, in fact I want to be the reason for it! Wow! My friend here is super goddamn attractive and when they're in their hunt mode! Wow! I have a super strong urge to constantly be with them and learn more about them and their culture and I just want to be with them for a super long time! Maybe even forever!'_ No one, no rational person thinks that about their friend platonically. Well actually people could think of their friends like that but the point is Elliot is not one of those people, none of his thoughts so far have been platonic. None whatsoever. He's been lying to himself and he knew it. And he would keep doing it. He would keep pushing down any feelings he had for Bloodhound for the sake of both their sanity. 

For the sake of Bloodhound.

Elliot sighed and shut his eyes and replayed what he did again. He could lie to himself and push his feelings down all he wanted but he'd never be able to ignore how freeing it felt to kiss Bloodhound. Even if their lips were chapped. 

Pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling through a long list of contacts, Elliot hoped Blisk wouldn't be too busy any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay okay i know i said I'd update sooner but FINALS!!! ive been working my butt off on so much stuff and tests. and yeah the last time i updated it was midterms but my finals literally happen after midterms and ive been so busy ;-; sorry yall, hopefully you like this chapter!!!!!!!!1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the translations for some of the words bloodhound used in this chapter:  
> félagi - companion or partner
> 
> Nei - no
> 
> let me know if i missed any!  
> comments and questions are greatly appreciated!


End file.
